Lyric's Song
by Aleka
Summary: *now complete*Set a year after the movie. Coach Yoast tried to forget his sister, but when her kids need him, he can't turn them away. There's also some love triangle action regarding Alan, and so please R&R!
1. Default Chapter

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Author's Note: My second attempt at a Remember the Titans story, and hopefully this one doesn't suck as much! I don't own anyone, but I wouldn't mind if I did. Anyway, have fun reading!

I hated the airport. Everyone bustled around my brother, sister and I, knowing their destinations. 

We however, had no idea where we were headed. None of us had heard of Alexandria, Virginia. We wished we never had, because the only reason we were here was because of a tragedy. 

"I'm hungry," my older sister, Summer, murmured. 

"You look it," I muttered, referring to the amount of weight she'd lost from her already tiny frame. 

Summer's twin, Sky, sighed loudly in impatience. "When's this jerk gonna get here?" he demanded.

"Don't call him a jerk," Summer snapped. "He's taking us in, isn't he? And besides, he's Mom's brother."

"Was," Sky corrected. _"Was_ Mom's brother."

Pulling my heavy suitcase onto my lap, I rested my chin on it. I wanted to go home. I wanted to know where home was. 

"He doesn't even care about us," Sky said bitterly. "He doesn't want us. We're just an obligation or something."

"Shut up, Sky," Summer sighed, raking a shaky hand through her long wavy brown hair. "He could've told the social worker that he didn't want us, and then we could have all just got shipped off to different foster homes."

"Well, why haven't we ever even heard of this guy? Mom never talked about him. She mustn't have cared for him."

"Who cares about Mom ever thought?" I whispered, unheard. 

A light-haired man approached us, holding hands with a little blond girl with corkscrew curls. "Are you the Weavers?" he asked, his voice dripping with Southern drawl. 

"Yes," Summer said, standing up and shaking his hand. "I'm Summer, that's Sky, and this is Lyric."

"I'm your uncle Bill," he said. "This is your cousin Sheryl." He lowered his voice to a gentle whisper. "I'm so sorry, kids. Your mom was a special lady."

Sky snorted. Summer elbowed him. I looked up at my new uncle and smiled politely. But none of us thanked him for his condolences. 

Uncle Bill pulled into his driveway after the quiet but courteous car ride from the airport. The three of us looked up curiously at our new home. I tried to imagine myself coming home from school everyday to this house, but couldn't. I wanted Maine back. Maine had been home. Tears built up in my eyes as I climbed out of the car. 

Summer noticed. She took my hand and squeezed it. "We'll be okay, kiddo."

"I have Sky in the far room down the hall here," Uncle Bill announced, inside the nicely furnished house. "And then I thought you girls could share a room? I've got two beds set up in the room next to Sheryl's upstairs. There's not a lot of room, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, we don't have a lot anyway," Summer told him. 

Sheryl, her cherubic face filled with sympathetic interest, offered, "I'll take you upstairs to your room."

The room was small, the walls painted white. But there was a beautiful view of the entire, rustic town. We thanked Sheryl softly, and she left us alone to pack with a shy smile. Summer told me that I could have the bed under the window so I could look out at the town. 

I looked at my sister and began to cry. I wasn't sure why, but all the dams inside of me broke and soon my shoulders were trembling with sobs. 

Summer pulled me near to her, into her arms. "Shh," she whispered. "We're going to make it, Lyric. We're strong. Don't give up now."

"Don't give up like Mom," I murmured bitterly. 

"Mom was sad," she reminded me. 

"So am I." I nestled my face into the crook of her neck and prayed for my mama. 

Dinner was somewhat awkward. Uncle Bill and Summer both tried to keep up a conversation, but Sky was mad at the world as usual, I didn't have much energy after such a long week, and I think Sheryl was just unsure of what to say. 

"Do you play football, Sky?" Uncle Bill asked, taking a sip of his milk. 

Sky looked up, suddenly interested. "Yeah, I played some back home. Why?"

Sheryl sat up straight in her seat, her feet curled up under her. "Daddy's the assistant coach at the high school. Our team was undefeated last year. We had a perfect season."

Uncle Bill looked at Sky for a moment curiously. "You think you'd be interested in trying out?"

Appearing indecisive for a moment, Sky shrugged, popped a forkful of peas into his mouth and said, "Yeah, maybe."

"Camp starts August seventeenth. Coach Boone's only requirement for making the team is you've gotta survive camp." He smiled. "You're a little on the skinny side, but I think you could stick it out for two weeks."

"I appreciate that," Sky muttered, not interested anymore. 

"What grades are you going into?" he asked. 

Summer looked at me, expecting me to actually say something. I smirked, gave her a playfully dirty look and then told him, "I'm going into Grade Eleven. They're going into twelve."

"Either of you girls thinking about going for the cheerleading squad?" 

I scoffed, but Summer replied, "Thinking about it, yeah."

I scoffed again. Summer _looked_ like a cheerleader. She was small, her face uncommonly pretty with her big amber eyes and her friendly smile. She would fit right in. I wouldn't. I usually didn't. It's not as if I was a completely hideous cow, I was just shy and introverted. People didn't typically embrace me. 

"Are you all excited about starting at a new school?" our uncle wondered, probably running out of things to say. 

Sky rolled his eyes, pushed away his plate and looked off into the distance. Uncle Bill noticed and looked slightly offended. 

I wasn't looking forward to much of anything anymore, but I definitely couldn't wait for Sky to head off to football camp. 


	2. Ten Bucks a Week

Apparently, there was a big surprise which involved Summer, Sheryl and I having to go to the football camp with Sky and Uncle Bill for two flipping weeks. Uncle Bill explained there was no other way because he had to go, and he couldn't leave us alone for that long. 

Sheryl was ecstatic and her father told us that it was normal Sheryl behavior. She was a football fanatic. 

Sky took the bus with the other players, but Uncle Bill drove the rest of us. Usually he took the bus, he said, but he didn't think we would appreciate having to sit in a moving vehicle with a bunch of guys. He obviously did not know Summer very well yet. 

Summer and I shared a room again, on a different floor than the boys. She glanced out the window frequently, trying to catch glimpses of the sweaty guys in tight pants, whilst I lay sprawled out on my bed and counted ceiling tiles. 

"I can't believe I'm heeeeere," I sang, rather melancholy-like. 

"Augh!" Summer exclaimed. "Your voice is terrible. Have mercy on my ears."

"Bah, you've got two of them," I said dismissively and launched into a new, more cheerful ditty. "Kill me NOOWWWW…"

"Gladly," she giggled and threw socks at me. 

"Ooh, scary socks!" I cackled. "Ooh! Noon! Lunch!"

She peered out the window. "Yep. They're going to the lunch hall. Let's go!" She pulled me out of the room by the arm. 

A large group of perspiring and dirty young men filled the lunch hall, gorging on their food. 

We spotted Uncle Bill and headed over to him. Sheryl was sitting beside him, talking heatedly to a man in a burgundy shirt. 

"You're going to get pummeled if you don't tighten up your defense!" she cried. 

"Should I give you my whistle and the game patterns?" he asked. "Do you want my job?"

"Don't make her that sort of offer, Herman," Uncle Bill laughed. "You'll be unemployed." He glanced up at Summer and I, noticing us finally. He grinned. "Girls! Sit down. This is Herman Boone, head coach."

"Nice to meet you," Coach Boone said, smiling and making eye contact with both of us as we sat down. He had a confident, strong feel to him, like he had worked hard to get to where he was. 

"How's Sky doing?" Summer asked, opening up her butterscotch pudding. 

Eagerly, I asked, "Has he keeled over yet?"

Coach Boone grinned, somewhat fondly. "That kid's got talent."

"What kid?" I asked. 

"Your brother."

"Talent?" I eyed suspiciously. "You are confused, Sir."

"He takes to the field like he was born out there." He shook his head. "He could go far if he'd shape up that attitude of his."

Summer nodded thoughtfully, while I exclaimed, "Talent?"

She gave me an amused look. "It's doubtful, but possible."

"He even sucks at _hopscotch_," I muttered. 

"This isn't hopscotch, it's football," Sheryl reminded me. 

I spied my brother, sitting at a table with a bunch of other guys. He was looking through a straw into his carton of milk. The others watched him intensely. Suddenly, Sky stabbed his straw into the carton and withdrew it, displaying a grape dripping with milk, shishkabobbed on the end of the straw. He received applause. 

I exchanged looks with Coach Boone, who had also been watching the amazing grape event. 

"Hey, that definitely required talent," he said. 

"Why was there a grape in his milk carton to begin with?" I demanded. 

"I'm not really sure, Lyric."

Summer told us helpfully, "He likes soggy grapes." She raised her eyebrows at our appraising stares. "It's true. He told me himself."

I laughed. "He said, 'Summer, I like soggy grapes' out of the blue?"

"Yes."

"You're sure you want him on your team?" I asked Coach Boone.

"As long as he keeps his soggy grapes to himself."

Dreaming of my Mom, I felt her gentle hand touch my arm. 

"Mama?" I whispered. 

"No, Lyric," she replied softly. 

The hand on my arm feeling too alive to belong to my dead mother, I gasped sharply and opened my eyes to a mostly dark room. The sun would be up soon, but the sky was still dark neon blue. 

Uncle Bill stood over me. "Good morning."

"Merrrg…" I grumbled groggily. 

"You have to get up. I need your help today."

"I think I made previous engagements," I muttered into my pillow. 

"Your sister's not feeling well," he whispered, and I rolled my head over to look where she was sleeping soundly, dead to the world. "I would have asked her to start working today because she's the oldest, but she's been throwing up all night."

Covering my face with my arm, I smirked. _"Lovely."_

"I'll pay you five dollars a week to carry equipment and give out water and towels," he said. 

Considering the offer, I rolled over on to my side and looked at him with bleary eyes. "Ten."

"Fine. Ten. But you have to split it with your sister when she feels well enough to start working."

"Summer will never feel well enough to work." I flopped off my bed and unlatched my suitcase to look for clothes. "She would break a nail and cry."

"Sounds like your mom at Summer's age."

The dream of her still lying dead in my mind, I felt a chill tighten on my arms. Summer definitely was the most like Mom. 

"Where should I meet you after I get ready?" I asked. Maybe, I thought, it would do me some good to get out into the fresh air and meet some new people. 

"I'll send Sky up to get you." He smiled. "Take your time getting ready, but not too much time."

It took me about ten minutes to change into shorts and a white T-shirt, brush my teeth, wash my face and pull my wild brown hair into a ponytail. I waited around for a while, trying to think of charming and witty things to say to these guys I had never met, but I hadn't really come up with anything that wouldn't make me sound like a moron.

There was pounding on my door. "Hey, Dinkus, are you ready to go? I'm gonna be late!"

"Quiet, Dillhole, Summer's sick!" I yelled back at my brother, and then pulled open the door. 

He was in a white football jersey covered in grass stains, glaring at me impatiently. A tall blond boy stood next to him, smiling a curious grin. 

I rolled my eyes at Sky and closed the door gently behind me. "Good MORNING."

"Good MORNING," he replied. Alan, this is my sister Lyric. She's a freak."

I looked up at Alan. He was cute in a goofy, endearing sort of way. He smiled back at me. "Hi Lyric. Your brother is also a freak, but we don't mind him that much."

"You can keep him," I offered pleadingly.

"We don't like him THAT much," he laughed. 


	3. Football Camp

The morning grew terribly hot, and I noticed that the guys kept glancing over at me as I filled paper cups up with water. I didn't blame them. I was thirsty and I wasn't really even doing anything. 

Sheryl walked over to me, her thumbs hooked into the loopholes of her cut-off denim shorts. "Hi Lyric. Don't you love it here? That used to be my job, serving drinks, but now you're the lucky sucker."

I smiled. "Lucky. That I am." I reached out and tousled her wheat blond ringlets. "You're done yelling at the poor football players?"

"For now!" She cringed. "Ouch. Your brother just got creamed."

"Excellent," I giggled. "What number is he?"

"Twenty-three. He's the dirtiest one, see? Over there?"

"You've got five minutes to break," Boone announced, and some of them immediately collapsed to the ground. Most of them, however, pushed their way past each other to me, Master of the Water Jug. 

"Make a line!" I ordered, struggling to have my small voice heard over all of theirs. "No spilling please. Thank you. Have a nice day."

"So you're Coach Yoast's niece?" a boy with an out-of-place Californian look to him asked me, standing off to the side while he drank his water. 

"Yep, apparently," I replied. 

"I'm Ronnie." He looked me up and down. "You don't really look like you were born a man."

I gaped at him. "That's because I WASN'T--" I glared past him. "SKY!" I shouted. 

Someone playfully punched my brother in the shoulder. "I think someone's talking to you."

"That's okay," he said, shrugging and avoiding eye contact with me.

Alan, the boy I had already met, took a cup of water, downed it, and reached for a second. "Don't worry. He didn't tell that to the whole team. He told some people that you have webbed feet, you eat drywall, and you never shave."

"He reads Nancy Drew mysteries."

"Really?" he laughed. "I'll have to tell that to everyone I know."

"Thank you Alan," I said, flashing him one of my rare genuine smiles. 

"My pleasure." He dropped me a wink and left to talk to Ronnie.

Sky came to the front of the line and went to grab a cup of water, but I slapped his hand sharply. He glared at me with hostility.

"Touch my water and die," I growled. 

He shrugged. "Sounds fair. What do you want?"

"If you want a drink, you have to promise to take back all the rumours you've spread about me."

"What about the rumours I've spread about Summer?"

"Those don't concern me."

"Deal." He turned around. "Hey, everybody, I lied! My sister has always been female, she has normal feet, does not eat walls, and she _might_ shave, but I don't really check her legs out very often."

"Great, now let me get some water," someone shouted. 

"There, all better, Schnookums," Sky said. 

The following day, Summer was still sick supposedly, and the sun grew even more unbearably hot. Sweat was building on the back of my neck even when I just sat in the shade, reading and waiting until I was needed for something. 

Closing the book I was reading after I finished it, I looked up, the sun's rays glaring into my eyes, and saw Coach Boone crouching in front of a player lying on the ground. 

"Get up, Alan," he said. "There's no room for this on my team."

"It's too hot," I heard my brother snap. "Just let him sit off for awhile. He's going to get heat exhaustion."

Despite the distance between us, I saw hesitant sympathy cross over Boone's face. He nodded reluctantly and helped Alan to his feet. They walked about five feet before Alan doubled over and threw up on the sidelines. 

"Okay, okay, you're all right son," Boone muttered, patting his back. 

I got to my feet and ran to the refreshments table while Boone led Alan over to the tree I had been sitting under. 

When I came back with a cup of water and a fabric-softened towel, Alan had his back rested against the trunk of the tree, his face all red and sweaty. 

"Thanks, Lyric," Boone said to me as I handed Alan the water. "Keep him hydrated." He looked at Alan for a moment before he jogged back to the team. 

I kneeled down awkwardly at his side, handing him the towel. 

"Thanks, kid," he said, giving me a weak smile. 

"No problem." I tried to ignore the smell of sweat and football cleats. "Do you think you'll make it?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little queasy." He covered his face with the towel for a moment, his shoulders hunched over, breathing deeply, and then dropped it to his lap. He glanced at my book. "Eye of the Needle, eh?"

"Yeppers," I replied, and unfolded my legs from under me, scooting over to sit next to him against the shady tree. "Just finished it. It was pretty good."

"I've never met a girl who was into science fiction," he said and then made a funny face as if he were berating himself for saying that. 

But I didn't care. He was just making conversation. "I'm not into science fiction. I just liked the book."

Alan studied the back of the book. "Looks interesting."

"Yeah?" I smiled at him. 

"Could I borrow it?"

My smile froze. I had taken this book from my Mom's collection before we had had to donate most her belongings to Goodwill and Salvation Army prior to the move to Alexandria. I didn't know this Alan guy very well, and if he lost it, I would be losing another piece of my mom. 

He had an honest face though. He had a what-you-see-is-what-you-get presence about him that made me want to trust him, which was unusual for a cynical person like myself. 

"Yeah, I guess you can. Just…take care--"

He tapped me on the head with the book playfully. "I'll take care of it. It's in good hands."

"Do you need more water?" I asked. 

"Don't worry about it."

I peered into his cup. "Looks pretty empty to me."

"What are you, my personal slave?"

"Absolutely," I said cheerfully. "But I get paid."

"Well in THAT case!" He held out the paper cup. "Fetch me some water, wench!"

"You neglected to say please." I climbed to my feet. 

He grinned up at me sweetly. "Please and carrots?"

Laughing, I left to pour him a drink and when I came back, he had his eyes closed. 

"Replenishment!" I called. 

Shielding his eyes from the sun shining behind me, Alan smiled and took the drink from me. "Thanks."

"Just doing my job," I giggled, settling beside him again. 

Downing the water, he grumbled, "Crap! I feel better!"

"No you don't," I told him. 

"Yes I do. You and your stupid healing water."

"No one has to _know_ you feel better."

He peered over at me mischievously. "You're way cooler than your brother."

"Thank goodness!"

"So are you older or younger than him?" he asked conversationally. 

"A year younger," I replied. "And then he's got a twin."

"Is her name Star or Cloud or something?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Summer. My mom was weird that way, I guess."

"Why are you staying with Coach?"

Shrugging, I muttered, "My dad didn't want us."

"Did your parents get a divorce?"

"They were never married." I picked grass out of the ground. "My mom killed herself."

Alan winced. "Sorry. How old were you when it happened?"

"It's been about a month."

His eyes widened. "Jeez, Lyric, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It's fine," I said. 

"No it's not," he argued. "Now you look sad."

I laughed bitterly. "Well, I kinda am."

"My mom died when I was young. I don't remember her well, but my sister is older and sometimes she has to be by herself to miss Mom." He smiled sadly. "So I could lie and say I know how you feel to make you feel better, if you want."

"Nah," I said. "It's actually just nice to talk to someone besides my sister. Sky won't talk about her very often, and when he does, he doesn't have anything nice to say."

"Well, you've got your sister."

"She keeps saying 'Everything is going to be just _fine_' and crap like that."

"She's probably right."

I smirked. "Hope so. It sucks feeling this way."

"What way?"

"I'm mad at my Mom," I admitted. "I haven't even started to miss her because I'm not done hating her for not loving us enough to stick around to take care of her family. And then she leaves us with this 15-year-old will that said her brother would be granted custody of us." I shook my head in contempt. "She _knew_ she was going to die but she didn't have the sense to change her will and leave us with someone we actually knew."

Alan's eyes went wide. "You didn't know Coach before you came here?"

"Never even heard of him."

"She never told you she had a brother?"

"Nope." I shrugged. "We don't know what happened between them or whose fault it was."

"Well, that's an unhappy story." He looked at me, but I kept my eyes fixated on the team as they struggled through their drills. "So I take it you hate it here?"

The indescribable look on his face brought a smile to my face. "No, I don't hate it here, Alan."

"Your brother does."

"My brother is hating-machine."

"The only time he's not complaining is on the field."

I smiled, a bit of affection for Sky touching my lips. "He does love football."

Someone jogged over. "Hey Bosley. Coach wants to know if you're ready to come back in."

"Ask her," Alan said, using a deliberately weak voice. "She's taking care of me. I am putty in her hands."

"You don't say," the other boy said, laughing. "I don't know who 'her' is, though. I haven't been introduced."

"This is Lyric, Coach Yoast's niece." He grabbed me by the wrist and made me shake my hand at the other guy in a flimsy wave. "Say 'hiiiii,' Lyric!"

"Hiiiii," I said. 

"I'm Petey, Lyric. Nice to meet you. What's Alan's diagnosis?"

"It's looking dismal."

"That doesn't sound good."

"Oh, it's NOT. He oozes with disease." I gave him a pointed look. "It could be contagious."

Petey stepped away from us. "So I'll be leaving now. But won't you catch his oozing problem?"

I grinned. "Nope. I already ooze."

"Eww, I didn't know that," Alan said distastefully when Petey left. 

"I was KIDDING."

"Sure you were."


	4. In the bedroom hehehehe

After the day had run out and everything was calming down, Alan, Sky, Petey and Ronnie dropped by the room Summer and I were sharing. 

Summer squealed and dove under her blankets. "Sky Weaver! I'm plotting to murder you as we speak! It's going to be messy and I will not feel bad! Why would you bring people into my room when I look like I'm about to croak?"

"Because I thought it would be funny and I was right," he replied. He whipped the blankets off of her and she cowered on her bed in her matching white shorts and tank top. "Meet my friends, Sunny, don't be rude. This is Petey, Alan, and Ronnie."

"Grrr," she said to him, and then looked at the others. "Hi. I'm not usually this horrifying to look at."

I chirped, "It gets worse."

She threw a pillow at me and I toppled off my bed. 

"Hey, do you ooze too?" Alan asked eagerly. 

"No, I do not _ooze," _Summer said, quite appalled. 

"Oh. I thought maybe you caught it from Lyric," he said, disappointed, and then winked at me. 

Summer stared at me. "Did you ooze on this boy?"

"Maybe," I replied enigmatically, and smiled back at Alan. 

"Lyric, don't tell people that you ooze," Sky told me impatiently. "It _sounds_ wrong."

"Don't talk to me," I responded. "You know I can't stand you."

"This is the reason I make up rumours about my sisters," Sky explained to his friends. "One of them hates me and the other one looks like she belongs to the legion of the living dead."

"You belong to the legion of the living dead?" Alan beamed at Summer. "That must be exhausting."

"Not really. I sleep all day." She smiled at him. 

His smile lit up his whole face and he sat down on her bed like he was right at home. 

This was so typical of Summer. One measly smile from her and she had every guy in the room wrapped around her finger. I had to practically sweat blood to get a guy to notice me. 

Looking for a little attention, I asked, "So you're feeling better, Alan?"

"Yeah," he answered, smirking lopsidedly. "Thanks to you and your water."

"Aww, Lyric, did you figure out how to pour water?" Summer teased. 

I hurled the pillow back at her. 

"Hey, I'm sick!" she protested. 

"Right. You just don't want to pour the WATER because you're not smarter than the TAP."

Summer appeared to be wounded as she looked over at Alan, who was laughing with a hand over his stomach. "I don't know what I did to make them hate me," she said to him. 

"You were BORN!" Sky said. 

"SORRY!" she shot back.

Uncle Bill poked his head into the room and surveyed the room. "You boys are not supposed to be in the girls' room."

As Alan, Petey and Ronnie mumbled apologies, Sky stared at Uncle Bill angrily. I felt a wave of both embarrassment and dread go down my spine and he hadn't even said anything yet. Then he opened his mouth and the feeling of embarrassment and dread grew a little more. "What, do you think they're gonna have a big naked party or something? They can't do anything with my sisters while I'm in the room."

Alan announced, "Oh yes we CAN." He recoiled under Uncle Bill's sharp glare. 

"I was just introducing some of the guys to them. Summer hasn't been able to leave her room to meet anyone," Sky explained, as always sounding like he thought he was all that and a bag of chips.

Uncle Bill shrugged, and I could tell he didn't like being the disciplinarian. "It's after curfew. And I don't think your mother would have liked the idea of three strange boys in her daughters' room, unattended."

"Don't talk to me about my mother," Sky barked. "You didn't even know her."

Summer tried to step in. "Sky, that's enough."

"I knew her before you kids did," Uncle Bill said calmly. 

"But you _stopped_ knowing her. And you don't know us. You never wanted to know us."

"If you want to talk about this later, I'll be more than happy to sit down with you to discuss it," he said in a slow, talking-to-psychos voice. "But I can't have a rational private discussion regarding our family in front of five other people."

"It's okay." Sky moved past him and out the door. "Don't bother, _Coach."_


	5. Summer's Shadow

When Summer got better and started alternating work days with me, I barely saw her. We didn't come into contact during the day. And the guys quickly decided who they thought was the prettier, funnier, and more interesting of the two Weaver sisters. It wasn't me. 

So, Summer snuck out most nights after lights-out to see her brand new friends. It never occurred to her to ask me to come along, and it never occurred to me to ask. 

The only guy on the team that paid attention to me was Alan, but I was pretty sure he had a crush on my sister. It didn't take me by surprise; I had always just been "the little sister" to guys, and Summer was always the hot one or whatever. I was the one Alan talked to about football and bathroom-humour related jokes. Summer was the one he tried to be charming around. But I kinda thought he was charming even when he told me Fatty-Fatty-Two-By-Four jokes. 

Two nights before camp ended, Summer watched the clock, and seeing it was eleven, needlessly ran a brush through her already flawless hair. I knew she was leaving and would be gone for awhile. I didn't know how long she stayed out for; I was usually asleep when she crept back in. 

"So, you seeing someone on the team?" I asked, barely peering up from my novel.

"Ronnie," she replied. "And kinda some other people too, but mostly Ronnie."

"Don't you worry about Ronnie's feelings?"

"It's not like we're getting married, Lyric."

"So, who else are you _kinda_ going out with?" I asked.

"No one special."

"Like who?"

"Like no one special! Jeez Lyric, what crawled up your butt and laid an egg?" she demanded. Her amber eyes were not as serene as usual. 

"It was a simple question, Summer! Like who?"

"You mean, like _Alan_?" Setting down her hairbrush, she came over and sat down on the edge of my bed, our bare knees touching. I moved away. A small smile on her face, she said quietly, "You _like_ Alan, don't you. This whole thing is about you being jealous. Well, I like him too. But he said he likes some other chick. So we're both out of luck, _sweetheart_."

"Up yours."

"I can't believe you're mad at me over some guy you've known for like ten days!" she cried. "Besides Sky, I'm like the only family you've got _left_, and you don't even care! Alan's not a god, Lyric. Although, I guess to you, he is, considering you could never get someone like him."

"I never said I liked him." 

"You never said you didn't."

She was hurting my feelings. I knew I had brought this on myself, but she was hurting my feelings. I sat up straighter, holding my chin up defiantly. "Mom got pregnant with you and Sky when she was your age. Grandma said she had to take a paternity test just so she'd know who your father was."

A look of puzzlement fell over her face. "Yes, I know."

"You really are turning into her," I said in a contemptuous voice. 

"Normally I would say thank you, but why did you say that like it was a bad thing?"

"Mom was a tramp."

My words didn't seem to hit her hard at all. She sat there, staring at me. I waited for her to say something. I just wanted an all out brawl with her so that I could get out a few hateful thoughts stirring in my mind about my mother, and so that I could kick her butt. But Summer just stared at me. 

Finally, tilted her head. "Excuse me?"

"Did I stutter?"

"Why would you say something like that?" she demanded. "Who are _you_ to judge--"

"I've always been the one left _behind, _Summer!" I exclaimed, tears choking my voice. "I've always had to sit apart from everyone else and watch. I watched Mom with all her boyfriends, and I watch you with all _your _boyfriends, and don't think I don't know what's going on just because I'm the little sister and I am never a part of it! You have no idea what it's like having to be your sister, Summer, having to be 'Summer's little sister,' the one that never gets the guy!"

"No, I don't know what it's like," she said coldly. "It must be hard to live in my shadow. And no wonder you _do._"


	6. Charcoal

Playing sick on the remaining day of camp, I didn't see anyone until the following day when they were all loading the busses. 

Everyone knew that Summer and I were not on speaking terms, and I just hoped that she hadn't told anyone what had happened between us. I highly doubt that she did blab to anyone. I couldn't picture her saying _She's mad at me because I'm prettier than her and guys like me better._

She had always known that was true. But we were sisters. And she would never say it out loud. 

Sheryl let me share her bed when we got home. On our first night back, I was lying next to her under too many blankets because I didn't have the heart to tell her that I was roasting like a turkey. 

"I sure hope you don't snore," she muttered. 

I laughed miserably. Usually it was Summer who warned me not to snore. A fat teardrop slipped down my cheek. "I can't promise anything," I murmured.

"Are you okay?" she asked, obviously hearing the tightness in my voice. 

"I'm throwing my family away," I whispered, and then I hated myself as the first tear brought torrents. 

"Why, because you and Summer aren't getting along?" Sheryl asked. 

I nodded, forgetting she couldn't see me in the dark. 

"Lyric, that's stupid," she said, her Southern voice coated with annoyance. "You'll make up. She's still your family. She still loves you. You and Sky are all she has left."

"I don't know what I'm doing…" I did not trust my voice to go any louder than a whisper. "Never felt so lonely before, you know?"

"Listen, Summer loves you, and so does Sky even though he's a jerk, and me and Daddy are happy you're here now."

"You barely know us."

"But you're our family." I could feel her shrug next to me. "Before it was just me and him. And now we've got all you guys." She went quiet in the dark for a moment, and I just waited for her to say something. "I never had a sister before."

Smiling, touched by the ten-year-olds willingness to be there for me, I told her, "Yeah, well, Summer would be more than happy to give me to you."

A grand idea popped into Uncle Bill's head on our last morning of freedom before school started the next day. Why not have a barbecue to celebrate the end of summer? As far as I was concerned, "the end of summer" was not an event one usually celebrates, but we went along with it anyway. Sky invited Petey over, and Summer asked Ronnie. I figured I could hang out with Sheryl. But then I found out that Coach Boone and his family would be coming, and Sheryl was friends with his daughter…so grrr. 

Handing me ten dollars, Uncle Bill asked me if I would run to the neighbourhood grocery store and pick up a few items that he had written down on the list. 

I took Sheryl with me. On our way home, I was walking on the street, struggling with a bag of charcoal, and she was walking beside me up on the sidewalk, picking leaves off of trees. 

"We should have gotten donuts," she sighed. 

"Mmm," I said sarcastically. "Maple frosted donuts with a side of charred animal flesh…sounds tantalizing."

"Hey, look! There's Alan!" she cried, pointing up the street, to where he was browsing around a newspaper stand with a cookie in his hand. "ALAN!"

Alan glanced up at the sound of his name being called, saw us, and gave a little wave. 

Sheryl took off running to him, while I trailed behind lugging the charcoal. 

"--and there'll be corn on the cob and _everything_!" Sheryl was busy explaining to Alan when I caught up to them. 

"Sounds good," he said, and then looked at me. "Hi Lyric."

I shifted the bag to my other arm, noticed I had charcoal dust smeared all over my shoulder and switched the bag back to cover it up. "Hi."

"So, Sheryl was telling me about a barbecue Coach is throwing?"

"You should come!" Sheryl offered. 

He raised his eyebrows, and then glanced over at me as if asking for permission. 

I shrugged, smirking slightly. "Sure, why not. Summer needs a date."

His expression turned confused; almost hurt. I had been going for the dig, and I apparently succeeded. I immediately felt bad. Alan was a straightforward, sweet, happy-go-lucky guy, and I doubted he was used to being hurt intentionally. Come to think of it, I wasn't used to _being_ the one to intentionally hurt someone else. 

"I'll think about it," he said at last. "Here, I'll take that charcoal for you before you strain something."

Laughing, I allowed him to take it from my arms. "You're barely bigger than me."

"Yeah but I got BRAWN."

Cackling, I said, "Whatever BRAWN is." I looked over at Sheryl. "Here, Sheryl, let me take that bottle of barbecue sauce from you before you strain something and so I can look all strong and brawny like my hero Alan here."


	7. Barbecue

"The red one," I said.

"I think I like the blue one better," Nikki Boone said contemplatively, studying her doll like a scientist.

"Then put the blue one on it," I told her. I didn't enjoy playing entertainer for two ten-year-old girls. Sheryl I liked because she was into cooler stuff than Nikki was. But Nikki was kinda stuck-up, and all she wanted to do was discuss what colours went best on what doll. 

I shifted around on my lawn chair, wincing as my bare legs stuck to the plastic. The chair was leaving patterns on my skin. I surveyed the backyard. Sky and Petey were tossing a football back and forth. Sky looked bored; Petey looked ready to crack a joke any minute as usual. Summer and Ronnie were standing close to each other, eating potato chips. How very romantic. Uncle Bill, Coach Boone and his wife were laughing about something, standing in a little circle together like old friends. Sheryl and Nikki were arguing beside me. Sheryl wanted to play with the guys, and Nikki just wasn't through accessorizing yet. 

Holding back a sigh, I glanced up at the sky over my head and prayed for rain. 

"I'm going to go inside and make a salad quickly," I overheard Uncle Bill say to his guests. I looked up and leapt out of my seat to intercept him before he made it to the back door. 

"I'll do it!!" I offered, a little too eagerly. Sky and Summer both turned to look at me, but then looked away immediately, probably chalking it up to normal Lyric behavior. 

A slow smile grew on his face and he patted my shoulder in an almost fatherly way. "You're pretty bored, huh, kiddo?" he asked quietly. 

"Just trying to be helpful," I told him, trying to be cheerful. 

"All right," he said. "Well, everything you'll need is in the fridge. Thanks, Lyric."

Washing lettuce in the kitchen, I wondered how long one could possibly take to make a salad without people thinking she was either a) stalling; or b) dead. I decided fifteen minutes should be long enough. 

There was a knock on the front door, and then a head poked in. "Hello?" 

I dropped my lettuce in the sink and walked out of the kitchen to see who it was even though I immediately recognized the voice. "Alan," I said. "You made it! Come in."

Alan grinned, and came towards me. "You smell like fresh air," he told me.

"Really?" I sniffed my shirt. "I _should_ smell like bug spray. I lathered myself in it."

"I was being polite. You actually smell toxic," he teased. 

Laughing, I thanked him and told him, "Go on out back. That's where everyone else is."

"What are you doing?" he asked, apparently not hearing me.

I shrugged. "Making salad."

"I hope you washed your hands before you touched the food otherwise you'll get bug spray poison all over it."

I winked. "I would advise you not to eat the salad." 

"Nice, Lyric."

I laughed. "Kidding."

"Do you want help?"

"Uh, no, not really, thanks."

"It'll go faster if two people make it."

I smiled to myself. "That's kinda the point."

"Oh, you're _stalling_," he laughed. "Why? Still mad at your sister?"

"I guess," I admitted, feeling a little surprised at how comfortable I felt talking to Alan. That didn't happen with anyone usually, especially not a guy I kinda had a crush on. "And everyone else is paired off out there."

"Awww, Lyric's got the lonelies," he taunted.

I grinned resentfully. "Just because I don't have a flock of friends following me like sheep doesn't mean you can mock me."

"Hey, I'll keep you company!" he said proudly, as if he were the best thing since sliced bread. "I can even do tricks."

"Yeah, right, you'll take one look of Summer in her halter top and start drooling and then you'll be all 'Uhh Lyric who now?'"

He jabbed me in the side with his elbow, then picked up a knife to begin dicing a cucumber. "You think I like Summer, do you?"

"You'd be like the first teenage male in history not to if you don't."

"Lyric, I'd be lying if I told you I didn't think she was pretty dang hot," he told me quietly. 

"Honesty is a good quality."

He scraped the cucumber slices off the cutting board into the glass salad bowl. "But I'm not interested in her. Sincerely, I'm not."

I nodded. "Hm. Go figure," I muttered. 

"She doesn't quite have the personality I'm into." He shrugged. "I mean, she's nice and all…"

"There's nothing wrong with Summer's personality," I said defensively. "She's sweet and funny and--"

He whacked me in the arm with a carrot. "You're a good kid, Lyric."

I looked up at him. He was looking back, a sweet glimmer of kindness dancing in his blue eyes. 

"Pickles!" he suddenly cried. 

"What about pickles?" I giggled, even though I was sad he had looked away first.

"Can you put pickles in salad?"

I made a face. "Ew, no."

"That's maddening." He appeared sad. "Do you have any pickles in your fridge anyway?"

"Yep," I said, pulling open the fridge. "Want some?"

"Only if they're _dill_ pickles."

"Is there any other _kind?"_ I laughed, taking out a jar and setting it on the counter. I unscrewed the lid and let him fish out a pickle.

The back door swung open and Sky burst into the kitchen. "Hey, Lyric, do we have any lemonade?" he called. 

Startled, Alan and I spun around with pickles clutched in our raised hands like weapons. 

"Hey, Alan," Sky said. "When did you get here?"

"Uh, a couple minutes ago," he replied. 

Sky looked confused as he went over to the fridge and looked around for the lemonade pitcher. "And you've been standing in the kitchen eating pickles with my little sister?"

"Well, I like pickles." Alan grinned. 

Alan held the door open for me with his foot while I carried the salad outside. Uncle Bill glanced up. "Lyric, there you are! I was thinking the salad ate you." He smiled at Alan. "I didn't know you were coming, son. Glad you made it."

"Thanks Coach," Alan said with a smirk. 

I noticed Summer watching Alan. Ronnie apparently noticed too, and it looked like he was trying to keep her attention by talking louder. 

I sighed when Summer caught Alan's eye and they smiled at each other. I looked up at him, saw that he was still checking my sister out and reclaimed my lawn chair. 

The sky was bright blue. It didn't look rain was going to happen. 

Alan plopped down on the chair beside me. "Don't get all mad because I was friendly with your sister. I'm allowed to be friends with her. Remember? _You're_ the one who was all praising her personality and stuff."

"I am not _mad," _I said indignantly. 

"You're _something," _he insisted. "And it's not happy."

I sighed again, and peered up at him helplessly. "I'm jealous."

"Of what?" he asked. "Your sister? Because I smiled at her?"

"You checked her out."

"Well jeez, look what she's _wearing_!" he hissed. "It's check-outtable!"

Shrugging, I said, "Granted."

"But why are you jealous?" Alan poked me playfully in the side, and I squirmed away. "Lyyyyyric…"

I smirked, a blush flowering across my cheeks. "I would like to sneakily change the subject now, but I don't know how to go about doing so."

Alan was about to say something when the football flew past him and hit me squarely in the chest. I yelped. I heard Sky laughing hysterically. Petey ran over. "Holy crap! Are you okay?"

Favouring one side, I looked up and said in a pained voice, "Yeah, it's okay, I didn't need that one anyway…"

Alan burst out laughing. 

Boone called, "_That's_ what happens when you fumble the ball, Petey."

"Ow, ow, ow," I grumbled, and handed Petey the ball. "Go play with my brother please, Petey."

"I'm sorry, Lyric, I wasn't watching."

"Don't worry about it," I told him with a strained smile. 

I sat up, the dull, shooting pain not leaving. Alan grinned at me, clearly amused. "Want me to go get some ice for that?"

I shot him a dirty look.

"I hate reading," he said out of the blue, startling me so that I momentarily forgot about the pain that no girl should have to endure. 

"What?" I demanded. 

"I didn't borrow your book because I wanted to read it." Alan was blushing. 

"Then why?"

"I didn't know that we would become friends," he said, shrugging. "I thought if I had your book, I would have to return it to you eventually and…"

"I'm afraid I'm not following."

"I thought it would give me an excuse to see you again."

I raised my eyebrows skeptically. "So. You borrowed my book so that you could see me again?"

"That was before I knew we would get to be friends."

"And now what?" I asked. "Now that we're friends, I mean?"

"Your sister is beautiful, Lyric," he said. "But not in the same way as you."

"Umm…" I stammered, rather flustered. "Neat?"

"Hey, Bosley, come throw the football around with us for awhile," Sky called. 

I thought I was going to have a brain aneurysm from the amount of blushing I was doing, so I couldn't quite look Alan in the eye when he glanced over at me for permission to play. He seemed to sense that, so he tousled my hair and jogged over to his friends. I leaned forward in my seat and covered my face with my hands. 


	8. Nina, Summer, and some serenading

Unless you counted kindergarten, I had never had to start at a new school before. Fear made my knees tremble as I walked down the empty halls, trying to find my third period class, which was math. I had been doing just fine with my other two classes, but I couldn't find Room 18. I had the school map clutched in a death grip in my hand, but it wasn't doing much good. 

I saw a girl with striking grey eyes and a mane of long unkempt brown hair. She didn't look like she was in a rush as she took her time unwrapping a piece of gum and slipping it into her mouth. So, I decided to ask her for a little assistance. 

"Hey, um? Excuse me?" I called, jogging to catch up to her.

The girl spun around and watched me, her eyes taking me in with some interest. "Yeah?"

"I'm new," I said, as if that would explain everything. "And I really don't know where I am."

She smiled gently, and took my schedule from me. Studying it, she said, "Looks like fate. You're in my math class." She handed it back to me and gestured for me to come with her. "I dislike math with a passion, so I was just biding my time getting there. Actually, I failed math last year. I'm in grade twelve, but I have to take grade eleven math over again."

She seemed friendly enough. I decided to introduce myself. "Uh, I'm Lyric Weaver."

Nodding appreciatively, she said, "Cool name. I'm Nina Cabral. I will be your tour guide. To your left and right, we have some lockers. And that pretty much does it."

Laughing, I said, "Thanks."

"My pleasure." She pointed to a door. "This is our stop." Allowing me to enter first, she followed me into the classroom and took the seat in front of me. 

"And why were you girls late?" the teacher, a hair man with bushy hair, asked. 

Nina replied, "She's new to the school and I was showing her around."

"You're Bill Yoast's niece?" he assumed. 

Surprised anyone else knew that my uncle was taking care of us, I nodded. "Yes sir."

"Well. I'll let your tardiness slide today. But from now on, I don't care who your uncle is."

"Good to know," I said. 

After the teacher, Mr. Evans, had distributed textbooks, he let us talk amongst ourselves about our summers or whatever. 

Nina sat sideways in her seat and ran her fingertips over carvings on my desktop. "So, Lyric, do you know anyone else at school?"

"Well, my brother and sister," I said. "And then the football team."

"Ohh, right, because your uncle's the coach," she said. "That's good. Um…so you, um, have connections?"

"To what?"

"People…that pay football?"

I grinned, deciding that I liked this Nina girl as she tried to cover up her blush by turning away to look at the clock. "Call me crazy, but I think you might like someone on the team."

Nina laughed. Her eyes crinkled in the corners. "I might."

"Who?"

"How much will you pay me to tell you?"

"I'll pay you with a smile or something."

"Do you happen to know who Petey Jones is?"

I stared at her. From what I had heard, a lot of people still didn't like the idea of sending their kids to a mixed school. I had a feeling that a biracial relationship would cause a bit of a stir. But I nodded anyway and said, "Yeah, I know Petey. He's amusing, therefore causes me to laugh."

"He held the door open for me one time," she sighed. "And then he walked me home because it was dark."

"Petey's a gentleman?" I asked. "Who could have imagined."

"You won't tell him I like him, will you?" she asked, a sudden look of searching panic flashing in her eyes. 

"How much will you pay me?" I teased. 

"I'll be your friend," she giggled. 

I met Nina in the cafeteria at lunch and we found a table together. I didn't ask why there weren't any of her friends sitting with us. 

As I tried to eat my sandwich, I couldn't seem to stop glancing at Alan across the room. He sat in the middle of people like Ronnie, Summer, Petey, Blue and Sky. 

"Ahahahahahahahaha!" Nina cried suddenly. "You like someone on the team too!"

"Shh!" I hissed, throwing a piece of lettuce at her. 

"Who is it?" she demanded. "Spill! I like knowing other people's business!"

"Son of a--" I watched, anger turning in my stomach like butterflies. "What is she _doing_?"

"Who?" Nina asked, confused. 

"My sister!"

"That girl sitting with them? She just got up to sit between Bosley and Petey?"

"Yes. The one _flirting_ with Alan." I simmered furiously. "I might have to attack her with a broom or something else that could serve as a bludgeoning device."

"Eeep, you like Alan Bosley?" Nina giggled. 

"Do not giggle," I growled. "I'll throw some more lettuce at you."

"I'm giggling because I think it's kinda cute," she explained, seemingly unfazed by my change in mood. "I mean, he's a dork, but he's a cute dork. And you're blushing, which is pretty endearing itself…"

"Quiet, you." I watched as Summer put her hand on his back and he reached over to tousle her hair. "That COW! He's only allowed to mess up MY hair!" I turned around in my seat so I had my back to Alan and company and looked at Nina, who was staring at me like I had mental issues. "I'm enraged. This is me when I'm enraged."

"Yes, I came to that conclusion on my own." She looked past me. "Ooh."

"Ooh?"

"Your lover boy seems to be drawing near."

"What?" I demanded, my voice dropping. I did not look over my shoulder. "Why would he do that?"

"Maybe he thinks you're a nummy treat?"

"Uh, well, actually, he did say some strange things last night."

"Last night?" she cackled. "You mean, in your bed?"

"Yes, Nina, that is precisely what I meant."

"Hi Lyric," Alan said, and sat next to me so that he was straddling the bench. 

__

Good Lord, I thought to myself. _Why must be straddle?!_

"Hi," I said in a wimpy voice.

"Do I offend you?" he asked. 

"No?"

"You're all pink-faced and your eyes are all buggy."

"Yes?"

"Why aren't you sitting with us?"

"Because I'm sitting with…umm…"

"Nina," Alan whispered helpfully.

"Yes, Nina!"

"Hello Nina," Alan said to her. "You stole my friend."

"Sorry."

"Come on, Lyric," Alan urged. "Sit with us."

"Whatshername and I are estranged at the moment."

"Summer?"

"Yes."

Nina asked me, "Summer's the sister, right?"

"Yeah," Alan replied for me. "They secretly miss each other but they're both too proud to admit it."

"She does not miss me," I told Nina.

"Can I tell you a secret?" He smiled at me. 

"Go for it."

"Summer's the one that sent me over here to get you."

"Oh, go jump off a cliff, Alan, you made that up."

"I did not!" he insisted. 

"So _you_ don't want me to sit with you, you're just the messenger."

"That's not true, Lyric." Alan took one of my grapes and ate it. "You're being really difficult today."

"I'm sorry," I sighed. "I just don't want to sit with her."

"Well then, I'll stay here."

"Alan," I exclaimed. "You don't have to be my little white knight."

"I like your grapes!" He shrugged. "And I prefer your company anyway."

"I don't do tricks though."

"No, but you eat like a dinosaur, and it's funny."

"Alan, go eat with your friends," I told him, not because I wanted him to leave, but because he didn't deserve to have to pick me over his friends. 

"You _are_ my friend." Alan gave me a sidelong glance and smirked adorably. I turned to goo inside. 

Nina watched the exchange between us, caught my eye and stared at me in surprise. She mouthed, _What are you doing?_ She added in wild hand gestures for effect. 

I shrugged and mouthed back, _I don't KNOW!_

"L," Alan suddenly sang in a wobbly voice, staring down at the table.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Is for the way you look at me…"

"Oh my goodness, I think you're being serenaded," Nina informed me.

"Is that what he's doing?" I wondered.

"O is….something, something, something…" Apparently he forgot what 'O' stood for. "V is very, very extraordinary! E! Is even more than anyone that you adore!"

I stared at Alan in awe as he really got into the song, doing a little dance that involved bobbing his head. He draped his arm across my shoulders and made me sway along with him. "And love is all that I can give to you, love is more than a game for two--two at love can make it--Take my heart and _please_ don't break it!" He looked over at me. "Love was made for me and you!"

I began to giggle as he hummed loudly. "I get your point, Alan," I laughed. 

He smiled. "Did I win you over yet?"


	9. Sisters and a HalfHour

I told Alan that he had won me over a long time ago, and then the lunch bell rang. He said he would call me that evening if he could. 

With no homework, my backpack seemed light as I skipped down the stairs and walked across the school parking lot on my way home. 

"Hey, Summer!" I heard someone call my sister's name. It sounded like Ronnie. "Do you want a ride?"

"No thanks, Ronnie," she replied cheerfully, and she sounded close behind me but I just kept walking. "I'll walk. But I'll call you tonight, okay?"

Silently in my head, I mocked her perky cheerleader voice. 

"Hey kid, you gonna wait for me?"

I turned around slowly to see Summer walking briskly to catch up. There was a tiny, cautious smile on her face. 

"What?" I demanded, but I started walking only when she was beside me. 

"How was your first day?" she asked. 

"Bite me Summer. Don't act like nothing happened." I glared at her. "If you want to call a truce, fine. But don't pretend everything is okay."

She held up a surrendering hand. "Okay. Sorry. I just want us to be sisters again."

I grumbled to myself. "We'll always be sisters, Summer."

"I've missed you. I kinda sorta love you, Lyric."

Laughing softly, I said, "Yeah, I like you as well. You're kinda neat." I looked up at her. "Did you really send Alan over to sit with me today?"

A grin lit up her elfin face and I couldn't help smiling back as I realized I had my sister back. "He was just SITTING there all depressed. And then I realized he was missing _you_. So I told him to go find you."

"Awww!" I giggled. "He's so cute!"

"You're kinda cute yourself when you're all happy and stuff."

"I can't believe you would do that for me after I'd called you a _tramp_." I shook my head in disbelief. "And considering how you like Alan too and all."

"I have Ronnie," she told me. "He treats me well. And you got me thinking. I do act a little…easy. And I am such a cow for leading guys on just because I know I can. Ronnie's a great guy and he deserves my respect."

I snickered. "Summer and Sunshine."

She threw her head back and laughed. "I know! Isn't that adorably obnoxious?" Putting her arm around my shoulders as we walked, she rested her cheek against my head. "I'm so glad we're friends again, Lyric."

"Me too," I agreed. "Now we just have to work on the Prince of Darkness."

"Who?"

"Sky!"

"Ohh!" She laughed. "I don't think you should call our brother the Prince of Darkness."

"Why not?"

"Because--Oh, go ahead."

"Hello?" I answered the phone, hopping up onto the counter. Uncle Bill never got mad at me for doing that, because he was too nice. My mom would have spazzed. 

"Hello?" the called replied. 

"Alan?"

"Lyric?"

"Are you trying to annoy me?"

"Yes, please."

I laughed, twirling the phone cord around my finger. "You'll have to try harder than that."

"I _would_, but I don't have enough time," he said in a rush. "Listen, my dad's gonna kick me off the phone right away, so I'm gonna tell hi I'm coming over to ask your uncle for help with my homework. Is that okay?"

"Are you asking me if it's okay that you're having an affair with my uncle?"

"You're a moron."

"I'm charmed."

"I want to see YOU. But my dad wants me to work on homework even though I don't have any, so I figure I can get away with seeing you since you live with Coach and my dad likes him."

"Well, I bet that required a lot of thinking."

"Actually, yes it did. It took all of Social class."

I was touched that I had been in Alan's thoughts for an entire class. So I giggled. 

"Crap. My dad's yelling at me. If everything works out, I'll see you in about a half hour?"

"Sounds like a plan," I said. When I hung up, I did a little dance. 


	10. Perfectly Everything

I went out to the back field after an hour and sat under a big oak tree, picking at the tall grass around me. I figured Alan couldn't arrange things with his dad. Sky had been making fun of me, saying that Alan had just wanted to get my hopes up, thus angering me. So I went outside, not bothering to tell anyone. 

I closed my eyes and leaned back against the tree. The rays of the dying evening sun pressed against my face, and I somehow felt a little lonelier. I always felt my mom closer when I was outside, especially when it was beautiful out. 

"Hey," Alan called softly, and I opened my eyes to see him making his way across the field, the grass almost to his knees. "Coach said you would be out here."

I smiled. I hadn't told anyone I was going outside, and I was a little touched that my uncle kept an eye out for me. "You found me."

He sat down in front of me, resting his chin on top of my raised knees. "Sorry it took me so long to get here."

"It's okay."

"I had to like twist my old man's arm to make him let me come over." 

I smiled.

"Why do you smile?" he giggled. 

"I still can't believe you did that at lunch today," I laughed. 

Alan grinned. "I had to tell you somehow. You kept pushing me away. It's like you were trying to convince me that Summer is better than you."

"That's not what I was trying to do. I have Little Sister Syndrome," I told him. "And you could have just written me a letter."

"Yes, but would I have come out looking so damn charming that way?"

I shook my head, still smiling. 

"Waaaait a minute," he said slowly, looking at me with quizzical eyes. "What do you mean by 'Little Sister Syndrome?'"

Sighing, I explained, "You have no idea what it's like being Summer's little sister, Alan. She's so beautiful, and I'm…I'm not Summer, that's for sure. Whenever I fall for a guy, they just think of me as like, another little sister. I mean, they care about me and everything, and they feel protective of me, but…you know? You wouldn't think of kissing your little sister."

He leaned towards me, and gave me the most beautiful kiss.

"You see, that was not like kissing my sister," he said. "You're perfectly everything, Lyric."

I blushed instinctively. "Thanks," I mumbled, for lack of anything better to say.

Alan laughed and kissed me soundly.


	11. Upstairs, Monkey, and Cookies

"Gah! Ahh, ow!" Alan complained as I led him by the hand through the house. 

"Shh," I hissed. I looked around, trying to spot where my family was so I could sneak Alan up the stairs without getting caught and like sent to a nunnery or something. 

He tiptoed silently beside me, a huge grin ready to dissolve into laughter on his face. "I like you playing the secret agent," he snickered. "It's cute."

I didn't see anyone, so they were probably in the TV room. Sky was probably in his room as usual. "Coast is clear!" I whispered. We crept up the stairs like cat burglars, Alan giggling the entire time. I pushed open my door and looked inside to make sure Summer wasn't in there. I went in and gestured for him to follow. 

"So this is your room," he said quietly, his eyes roaming over the two unmade beds and the dresser spilling out clothes. 

"Mm-hmm," I murmured. Then I realized I hadn't put away my unmentionable and they were sitting in a pile on the foot of my bed. I dove for them and quickly flung them under the bed, smiling casually at Alan. 

"I prefer boxer-briefs myself, but those were quite fashionable," he said, laughing at my blush. "It smells way better than my room in here."

"Oh. That's because you're a smelly boy, Alan."

"Not _all_ boys are smelly," he told me indignantly, and sat down next to me on the bed.

I hit me that I didn't feel uncomfortable with him so close to me on my bed. As his hand traveled up my leg and around my waist, I parted my lips and looked up at him. 

He met my eyes and gave me a shy, impish half-smile. His face inches from mine, he murmured, "Hi."

I laughed breathily, and he nipped my smiling lips with his. When I didn't pull away, he kissed me again, this time longer, with more fire. 

I was falling hard for him. And I think he knew it as his hands found my face and he stroked my cheek with his thumb. 

"It's amazing," he muttered, his lips close to my ear. 

"What is?"

"Kissing you," he replied. "You're…it's just…" He laughed. "I don't know."

I kissed his cheek. "Me too, Alan."

He smiled gratefully at me and brushed my hair away from my face so he could kiss my forehead. 

"_LYRIC!!!! I SWEAR TO GO IF YOU STOLE THAT MONKEY AGAIN I WILL CHOP YOU UP INTO LITTLE TINY PIECES AND FLUSH YOU DOWN THE TOILET!!!"_

I flew back from Alan when I heard my brother come storming upstairs. 

Sheryl yelled, "Sky, don't you dare clog the toilet again!"

"Should I hide?" Alan asked. 

"Yes please!"

He dropped to the floor and was about to slide under my bed, but I scrambled to the ground to stop him. "Panties!"

"Ahahahaha!" he laughed loudly, then clamped his hand over his mouth. His shoulders shook with violent laughter as I shoved him into the closet. 

Sky charged into my room and tackled me to the floor. 

"Where's my monkey!" he yelled.

"I'll smother you with underwear if you don't get off me," I warned. 

He did roll away from me. "Monkey?"

"I don't have the monkey."

"There where is it?" he cried. 

"I don't KNOW!" I shouted. "Get out of my room!"

"Why, are you doing drugs?"

"Yes! And I would like to trip out on my own if you don't mind!"

"if you find my monkey…"

"If I find your monkey I will return him for a price, Sky, yes, of course."

"Thanks. That's all I ask."

"Now get out," I pleaded. 

I breathed a sigh of relief when sky left, closing the door behind him. "Okay, Alan, it's safe."

He pushed his way past all the clothes and emerged, wearing a flowery hat. 

I laughed. "Flattering!"

"You think so?"

"Definitely. You can keep it. It's Summer's."

He grinned and placed it on my head. "Looks better on you." He lowered his voice. "What about a monkey?"

I adjusted the hat, glanced in the mirror and shrugged. "We're both afraid of the dark."

"So you have a monkey stand guard against the boogey man?"

"It's a nightlight!"

The shocked _O_ of surprise that his mouth formed turned into a wide smile as he started to laugh. 

"It's really not that humourous."

"Well he's a football player!"

"Hahahaha I know, that surprises me too," I giggled. 

"It's cute that you're scared of the dark though," he said, slipping his hands around my waist. "Does that mean you need someone to protect you at night now that the monkey is missing?"

I stretched up to kiss him. "Nice try. But the monkey is hiding in my sock drawer."

After I had snuck Alan out the back door, I went into the kitchen to see what the fridge had in store for me. I poured myself a glass of milk and had just sat down at the table when Summer walked in.

"Want a cookie?" she asked. 

"That's a silly question."

Grabbing two cookies for each of us, she pulled up a chair next to me. "You're glowwwwing, Lyric."

"You saying I'm radioactive?" I dunked a chocolate chip cookie into my milk. 

"I'm saying you look like you just had your first kiss."

"Eh?"

"Oh come on, Lyric. I know you smuggled Alan to your room.

"Yes, and we made wild passionate love on your bed," I said dryly.

"Yeah. Sure." She shoved a whole cookie in her mouth. (My sister, the automatic garborator. I didn't see how she could stay thin) "I think it's sweet. Your first kiss and all."

"Oh _please_. I've kissed _many._"

"Yeah right."

"Listen, Miss Tongue Happy--"

"Relatives and other girls don't count." She paused, deep in thought. "Neither do dogs."

"Cats?"

"Nope."

"Well then," I muttered. 

"Aww," she giggled. ""Woo, look at you blush."

"Shut up."

She smiled, then wolfed down her other cookie. "Um, so I broke up with Ronnie."

"WHY!" I hollered. "The Summer-Sunshine thing is too perfect to pass up!"

"I don't need a boyfriend," she said quietly. "I know guys notice me for what I look like, and that's probably why I _can_ always get a boyfriend."

"Ronnie's not like that. He actually liked you for some reason."

Without raising her head, she glanced up at me with a slight smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "He's good to me and I just need a friend right now."

"And he understands that?"

"Yes, I think so." A sad cloud fell over her pretty face. "I wish I could fall in love, Lyric."

"Then don't look for it. That's what happened to me. I've never wanted to fall in love with anyone before and now I'm all giddy and blushing and nauseating."

"Teeheehee you're in love," she laughed delightedly. 

"Hey, it's Alan. How can you not fall in love with Alan?"

Summer smiled. 


	12. getting yelled at

School the next day gave me a blinding migraine. It was only the second day of school but I managed to acquire two hours' worth of detention. 

In Chemistry class, I choked on my gum, so I was excused to get a drink. It just so _happened_ that Alan had phys ed and was also getting a drink conveniently at the same time. 

I made some comment about him being sweaty, and he in return made a comment about the exhilaration of dodging balls. Somehow that conversation resulted in us kissing, which then resulted in some freshmen giggling at us as they walked by. So for a little privacy, we ducked through the first door we came to. The boys' locker room. 

It was all just innocent making out until some teacher walked by, saw us in the doorway and had a near mental breakdown. She started yelling at us for displaying irresponsible conduct. 

Alan didn't get a detention because he was _allowed_ to be in the boys' locker room. I could have been making out with the wall and I still would have had to stay two hours after school. 

Since I had a headache, I decided to wait for Uncle Bill to finish with football practice so I could get a ride home with him and Sky after my detention. 

I took a seat on the bleachers and watched with vague interest. I tried to find Alan on the field but I didn't. Finally I spotted him, number forty-eight, on the sidelines next to my uncle. We saw each other at the same time, and both of us waved. He said something to Uncle Bill, then trotted over to me. As he got closer I saw that he had a spoon in his mouth. 

"Hello," he said coyly. He ran up the bleachers and sat next to me. 

"Hello," I said back, equally as coy. "What's with the spoon in your mouth?"

"I was eating."

"Eating what?"

"Pudding."

"Did you finish it all?"

"I'm a growing boy, Lyric."

"Of course, silly me. Glad to see you're not sweaty today."

"Yeah, I'm not playing much lately. But them team's ready for the game on Friday."

"I suppose that means I'll have to come watch," I teased. 

"Sure, if you get a kick out of watching me stand around."

I leaned my head onto his shoulder. "I always have," I said and giggled. "You'll have your time to play, Alan."

He kissed the top of my head. "Thanks. But do you have any idea what position I even play?"

"First off, don't kiss me when my uncle could be watching. Secondly, you're a linebacker, but don't ask me what that is."

"Why are you watching our practice anyway?"

"I'm a doting girlfriend."

"You are?" he asked, shocked. "Wait--is doting a good thing?"

"Detention gave me a headache."

He laughed. "Sorry."

"I'm gonna catch a ride with my uncle."

"Nah, you're gonna catch a ride with me."

"I am, eh?"

"No I just said that because I like to say things that I don't really mean because I like to get a reaction."

"ALAN!" Coach Boone yelled. "This is not Mating Hour, this is football practice! Get your hind parts back to your team!"

"I gotta go," Alan said quickly. "You want a ride home or no?"

"Alan, for cripes' sake, what the hell are you doing?" Boone shouted. 

He rolled his eyes. "Quick, I gotta get back to the other manly men!"

"I accept." I looked at him pointedly. "But you better not get me in trouble again."

I met Alan in the parking lot after practice. We talked about school, how I was fitting in, and saturated iced tea for some reason until he went through a stop sign. 

I scoffed. "You endanger my life."

"You bet."

"I could drive better than you and I can't even drive."

He looked over at me. "You've never driven before? And you're sixteen?"

"I drove a tractor once." I smiled and shrugged. "Well, I use the term 'drive' loosely. I helped my grandpa push one out of a rut."

"Well, today's your lucky day!" he exclaimed, pulling over. "Today you drive my car."

"This piece of crap?" I cackled. 

He laughed with me. "This piece of crap!"

I climbed over him while he slid under me so that we could switch seats. 

"Ooh, what are these thingies?" I asked, pointing to the pedals.

He gave me a frightened look. "You're kidding…?"

Slowly, I nodded. "Yes, Alan."

"You can't imagine my relief."

"Hmm, so you move the car with this circle thing?"

"Lyric, if you think you're going to kill us, tell me now."

"I only kid with you," I promised, and pulled into my lane after letting a green truck pass. 

"Hey, you're not doing too bad," he said, impressed after about ten minutes of smooth driving. "You go a little slow, but at least at this speed we can't go careening to our deaths."

"One time Sky tried to teach Summer how to drive," I told him conversationally. "She hates garbage cans."

"Why does she hate garbage cans? They're nice."

"She killed about eight of them just driving down our block." I waited for some kids to cross the street before I continued. "But that was it and no one died."

__

L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole came on the radio, the song Alan had sang to me in the lunch room. "Aww!" I exclaimed, turning it up. 

"So _that's_ what O stands for!" Alan cried. "O is for the only one I see."

Both of us started to dance, although Alan's dance was much better than mine because I had to keep one hand on the wheel. 

He began to laugh. "Your hair shimmers when you dance."

"Must be my conditioner." I looked over at him and smiled, just as an adjacent car slammed on its brakes to avoid hitting us. "_Hey!_ What the hell are you doing, jack off?!" I shouted out my window, stopping the car. 

"Oh God!" Alan yelled. "You just called Coach Boone a jack off!"

"When?" I cried, confused. 

"Now!"

"What?"

"He's going to cook us for breakfast!"

I watched, terror growing, as Coach Boone pulled his car to the side of the road haphazardly and climbed out. 

"Hail Mary, full of grace…"

While Alan prayed beside me, I leaned out the window and smiled endearingly. "Hi!"

"Jack off, huh?" Boone said, his strong voice quite scary. 

"Oh, you're not a jack off, I was yelling at some other jack off," I said pleasantly. 

"Stop staying jack off," Alan whispered. 

"You didn't see the stop sign?" Boone asked, and I suddenly felt the fear that his team must feel every day. 

"Uh, no, sir."

"How could you not see the stop sign? It's painted red for a reason."

"So it's the same colour as a fire truck!" I grinned. 

"So you can't miss it."

"Yes!"

"Do you even have your license, Lyric?"

"I'm an excellent driver."

"You almost caused an accident!"

"Did not!"

"You did so!"

"Don't tell my uncle!" I pleaded. 

"Don't tell your uncle that you're out driving without a license and you could have killed someone?"

"Excuse me, sir," Alan spoke up. "That's somewhat of an exaggeration. She was driving very slowly."

"Don't tell my uncle!" I pleaded again. 

Boone stared at me hard and I shifted a little in my seat. Finally he said, "You're lucky I like you, kid. And you're lucky I don't want to cause your uncle to worry. Just don't pull this again, understood?" I nodded. "You too, Alan. Coach Yoast trusts you to take care of his niece when you're with her."

"Oh please," I grumbled. "All he does is get me yelled at."

Alan laughed, smiling at me. "Give me back my drivers' seat."


	13. Sky

****

Author's Note: I KNOW _NOTHING_ ABOUT FOOTBALL!!

On Friday night, game night, Nina, Sheryl and I found a spot near the front on the bleachers. For early September, the air was already bitingly cold. The three of us huddled under Nina's blanket, with my arm around Sheryl's narrow shoulders to keep her warm before the game started. 

"My teeth are chattering," Nina complained. "I can't believe I'm here. I hate football."

"But you love Petey," I reminded her, using Sheryl as a shield when Nina tried to clobber me. 

"Do they always do the little dance?" I asked my cousin later as the Titans came out.

She nodded. "Yeah, they got SOUL POWER."

"Of course they do. Oh my gosh!" I squawked. "Alan's adorable!"

"What number is Petey?" Nina demanded grumpily. 

"Forty," Sheryl replied. 

Alan got to play the first half, and I was quite pleased. They were down eight points by half time, and I had to admit that it was Sky who was doing a lot of damage. He didn't play well under pressure. 

But he really came back in the second half, and that was just dandy, but Alan sat off for the last quarter. 

With sixteen seconds left, we were only down on point, and I chose that moment to go get some hot chocolate. Carrying my steaming Styrofoam cup back to my seat, everyone suddenly stood up, screaming and cheering.

"What?" I yelled. "Damn!" I couldn't see what was going on, so I ran to the front, but by the time I got there, the Titans were all jumping around and yelling victoriously.

At least we won, anyway. 

As they all shook hands with the other team, I watched as another coach pulled Uncle Bill off to the side to talk. I couldn't hear or see facial expressions, so I didn't know what was wrong. I saw him nod, shake the coach's hand and follow the team to the locker room. 

I was still wondering about it as I waited around with Nina and Sheryl. Summer, looking cute and enthusiastic in her cheerleading uniform, came over to talk for awhile, but then left with her friends. Petey came out of the locker room, spotted us and ran over. 

"Aww yea!" he exclaimed, giving us all high fives and low fives and whatnot. "Was that awesome or what?"

"Lyric wouldn't know. She decided she need some hot chocolate," Sheryl said, looking at me like I had kick a puppy. 

"That's Lyric for you though. Your brother won the game just so you know, Lyric," Petey told me. "Hey, Nina? Right? We have Biology together, don't we?"

Nina broke out in a grin and I noticed she had dimples. "Yep. You play football good, Petey."

I gave her a smile, then ushered Sheryl away so they could talk and get all acquainted and stuff. 

Sky came out of the locker room, red eyed, distracted looking and sniffling. Sheryl and I went over to him. She hugged him, gushing about how that was the best comeback she had ever seen, etc. He thanked her softly. 

"I didn't see what happened but yay for you anyway," I told him gamely. "Who knew you did stuff good?"

"Screw you, Lyric," he snapped. 

Sheryl saw her dad and dove into his arms, leaving my brother and I alone. 

"What's your problem?" I demanded, offended. 

"Just leave me alone, okay?" He pushed past me, but I held onto his arm. 

"No, Sky, what's wrong?"

He shook my hand off his arm. "I got _suspended_ from the team, Lyric. I'm walking home so if Coach cares, tell him I'll come home sometime."

"Um, okay, but what?" I cried. "What happened? Sky! Don't just walk away, what happened?" 

"Sorry kid." He made his way through the crowd until I couldn't see him anymore. 


	14. Beautiful

I waited until we were home and Sheryl was in bed to ask Uncle Bill why my brother was off the team, even though I was so worried I wanted to cry. Sky still wasn't home. 

"Green or raspberry?" Uncle Bill asked softly. We were giving each other silent company in the kitchen. 

"Pardon me?"

"Green or raspberry tea?"

"Oh. Sorry." I didn't really care, but I replied, "Raspberry, please."

He set a mug in front of me and sat down at the table. I toyed with the tea bag distractedly. 

"Did your brother or sister say when they'd be home?" Concern filled his kind blue eyes. 

I shook my head again. 

"Are you mad at me, Lyric?"

Looking up at him in surprise, I insisted. "No, I'm not mad at you at all, Uncle Bill. I'm just…Was it you that suspended Sky?"

Taking a sip from his steaming tea, he nodded. "I had to."

"What happened? What did he do?"

"The coach from Roosevelt thought that Sky's comeback was a bit too miraculous." He sighed. "So he requested that Sky take a drug test."

"Excuse me?" I snapped. 

"I told Sky that he had to take it. But if he couldn't take the test right now, he could hold off until he could pass it, but he'd be off the team until then. It was his choice." Uncle Bill looked me in the eye. "He picked the suspension."

My stomach flipped. "But Sky's not into that stuff."

"I don't know, Lyric. He's such an angry kid. I don't know how to reach him. I don't know where he got the stuff or if he's done it before…I don't know how to _reach_ him."

"Well for starters, don't accuse him of doing drugs."

"Lyric, your brother was incredibly stoned tonight. It was not a blind accusation." He put a hand over mine. "I'm really sorry, kiddo."

"What is _wrong_ with him?" I demanded, tears spilling down my cheeks. "Why doesn't he care about anything he's got? He doesn't care about football or me and Summer or himself--"

"We'll get him help," Uncle Bill promised. "Don't cry, okay, Lyric, you can't help him by making yourself miserable over him."

"I love him," I murmured. "I don't want to lose him."

"I'm gonna tell you something, all right?" When I nodded, he went on. "Your mom got pregnant with Sky and Summer when I was in my sophomore year of college. We had never been close, but that put an even bigger strain on our relationship. It wasn't because she had gotten pregnant; that didn't matter to me, I still loved her. It was the fact that she didn't seem to care that bothered me. She drank, she smoked…but you all came out okay. Then I visited her once when you were maybe two years old, and she was alone, your dad hadn't stuck around…"

"I don't know who my dad is," I said. 

"Neither do I. I don't know if she did either." He continued, "But when I came to see her, she was high. That was the last time I saw her. It disgusted me that she would rather get blitzed than take care of her kids."

"She loved us," I told him. "But she never wanted us."

"Your mom was beautiful. She just made a lot of mistakes."

I looked up at him sharply. 

__

"You were not one of her mistakes." He smiled. "You remind me of how beautiful she could be."

Tears welled up in my eyes again. "Thank you." He nodded. "I'm going to go to bed though. Night, Coach."

I climbed the stairs to my room feeling closer to my mom, but ready to let go of her. 


	15. Okay

The Titans went on to having a perfect season, but they did it without Sky. He refused to take any drug tests, and was not allowed back on the team. 

The story was that Sky had a pulled hamstring. His teammates never knew any different.

He slipped further and further away from us. He hated Uncle Bill; he hated me; he hated Summer. He tolerated Sheryl. We didn't know what to do about his problem. He came home wasted and fried on a regular basis. January 20 frightened us; Sky's eighteenth birthday. We knew he would not stick around when he was legally an adult, and who knows what was going to happen to him when he went out on his own.

Light snow fluttered through the air as Alan and I walked through town Thanksgiving weekend. Our hands intertwined, and he looked exceptionally adorable with snowflakes in his hair and on his eyelashes. 

"I am so cold," Alan grumbled. 

"Me too," I agreed, shivering. 

"At least you get to wear gloves."

"You should have _brought_ some if you knew you were just going to complain."

"Where are we even going?" he asked. 

"We're just walking!" 

"Fine. Whatever floats your boat floats mine," he said, surrendering. I think he knew that I didn't like being at home much. I had trusted him enough to confide in him about Sky, and he understood. 

As we passed under an awning, a huge pile of snow fell on him, and I laughed hysterically. Then I proceeded to snort, which caused more laughter.

Shaking his head to get rid of the snow in his hair, he snapped, "It's not very amusing, Lyric!"

"Oh, but I am amused," I cackled. 

"I'm freezing and I have a snow bank on my head--stop laughing!" He poked me. "I said stop that!" He bent down and scooped up a heap of snow, throwing it at me.

"Heeey," I muttered. "You threw snow at me."

"Very observant, Captain Nemo."

Laughing, confused, I looked at him oddly. "What?"

"I don't know. But you're mean and I don't like you." He rolled some snow into a perfect snowball and flung it at me with great force. 

"Ow! You stupid monkey!" I yelled, rubbing my shoulder. I began making a snowball.

"Yeah, that's right, ball it up," he taunted.

"I will!"

Alan plowed into me, and not giving me a chance to scream, gave me a brutal face wash, cackling the whole time. 

"I hate you," I sputtered when he let me go.

He mauled me with a hug. "I love you."

Feeling completely warm, I looked up at him with a smile, and then began to giggle. 

Alan started giggling too, and he pressed me into his arms, letting me bury my face into the hollow of his neck. "I love you too!"

"What?" he laughed. "That came out all muffled. All I heard was 'MMF MMF MMF MMF!'"

I pulled back from him, grinning happily. I kissed the tip of his pink nose. "I SAID, I love you too!"

"Oh, I don't BLAME you." 

There was just a long moment where we looked at each other, smiling. I felt like I belonged. Everything that had ever made me cry in my past suddenly felt a little better. I wasn't alone. And I was loved. It was pretty nice. 

Then Alan kinda roared and tackled me to the ground. I squealed delightedly and pushed him away from me. "Come on, I'm cold and snowy." I helped him to his feet. 

"Where are we going _now?_" he sighed. 

"In there!" I pointed across the street to a coffee shop. I clasped my hand around his and we ran across the street. 

The bell above the door jingled as we went in, and warmth welcomed us. 

"HEY!" Alan yelled, dragging me over to a table where two guys were sitting. One of them was in a wheelchair. 

"Bosley!" they both said, happy to see him apparently. 

"Do you mind if we sit down?" Alan asked, his face one big grin. They shook their heads, so Alan slid into the chair next to the black guy and I sat down next to the blond guy in the wheelchair on the other side of the table. "How are you guys?"

"Good," the one sitting next to Alan replied. "I'm going to school. Still playing football." He grinned at me. "Hey. I'm Julius. Don't tell me your _Alan's_ girlfriend?"

He had a sweet smile. "I'm afraid so, Julius."

Alan wrinkled his nose at me, and I laughed. He said, "This is Julius, and that's Gerry. Guys, this is Lyric. Coach's niece."

"Coach Yoast's niece?" Gerry asked me. He had a strong voice, the kind you would listen to and trust immediately. He almost kinda made me feel safe. 

"Yeah, you know him?" I wriggled out of my heavy winter jacket and hung it on the back of my chair. 

"I've known him for years," Gerry replied. "He's kinda like a dad for me."

I smiled softly. "Yeah, he's the closest thing I've ever had to a father too. How do you know him?"

"He was my football coach."

I had only heard of wheelchair basketball, never wheelchair football. I must have taken a long time to reply as I thought about how a guy restrained to a wheelchair could play a sport like football, because Gerry smirked. "I haven't always been like this. I was in a car accident last year."

"Ohh," I said quietly. "I'm sorry, Gerry."

"Lyric almost got us in a car accident once," Alan offered. "With Coach Boone."

Julius and Gerry gaped at me. "And you lived to tell the tale?" Julius asked. 

Grinning, I announced, "Boone actually likes me."

"Just because you're Coach's niece," Julius laughed. 

"No way, it's because I'm _charming_," I protested. 

"It's the only reason I like you," Alan teased, and laughed at my expression.

"Alan, you wound me," I sighed. 

"I was kidding. I like your body too."

I threw a sugar packet at him. 

He smiled at me sweetly, reached across the table and ran his fingers briefly through my hair. 

"Aww," Julius and Gerry chorused. 

"Shut up," Alan laughed. "I like making her hair messy."

Gerry dipped his finger into the whipped cream swimming on top of his hot chocolate, and licked his finger clean. "You know, we'd better get going, Julius. Either of you want to finish this for me?"

Alan and I both dove for the mug of hot chocolate, slapped each other's hands away for awhile, and then resentfully agreed to share. 

"See you later, Alan," Gerry said, wheeling past us lithely. "And I'll see you on Monday, Lyric, I guess?"

"Uh sure, why?" I asked, taking a sip of the drink and then pushing the mug over to Alan. 

"It's Thanksgiving," he replied. "Coach invited me and my mom over for Thanksgiving dinner."

"Really?" I smiled at him. "Great. See you then."

They left together, and I watched as Julius held the door open for his friend. 

"Poor guy," I said softly. 

Nodding, Alan shrugged, looking up at me. "You should have seen him, Lyric."

"I just did?"

"No, I mean, when he was out on the field. Gerry was a leader, he was our captain." He sighed. "He was really going somewhere with football; he had _talent_. But then…the accident. It's not fair that there's all that talent and drive inside that kid, but he can barely move anymore. That's what pisses me off about your brother. Sky's talented; like Gerry; but he's willing to throw it all away because he's got such a chip on his shoulder. Sky's got a choice about how to use his talent. Gerry doesn't. It doesn't seem fair."

"Gerry sounds like an amazing guy," I said. "And Sky's just killing himself slowly, you know? Nothing's _fair_ about it."

Looking at me tenderly for a moment, he smiled with a softness that almost made me want to cry, and came around the table to sit next to me. "He'll be okay, Lyric."

"Have you _talked_ to him lately?" I demanded, sinking into his arms. 

"No, he doesn't really talk to anyone." He tilted my chin up gently. "But none of this has anything to do with you, okay? There's nothing you ever did that would make this your fault."

"I feel like I should be able to get to him, because he's my brother and he should want to listen to me, but he just hates me…"

"He doesn't hate you, Lyric, he still loves you." Alan tried to get me to smile. "He knows you're trying. And if he doesn't know now, he will. And once everything is okay again, he'll be grateful to you and everyone else that tried to help him."

"How do you know everything's going to be okay?"

"Because right now it's _not_ okay. And if it's not okay, it's not the end."

I laughed without humour. "You're so good to me, Alan…"

He didn't say anything, just barely kissing my forehead. 


	16. Cranberry Sauce

"This is the stupidest holiday ever invented," Sky grumbled, setting the table with me. 

"It's not _that_ stupid," I said, trying to be cheerful for him. I don't know why, but I seemed to always be on a mission to keep him happy. "I mean, we get food."

"Dammit, Lyric," he snapped. "Forks go on the _left_ side, not the right side!"

"Ooh, sorry," I barked back. 

"How hard is it to put down silverware?"

I dropped the knives and forks on the table in a heap. "I don't know! _You _decide!" I yelled, storming out of the dining room.

The late afternoon sun streamed in through the kitchen window like strands of golden ribbon. Uncle Bill, Sheryl and Summer were bustling around the kitchen, all helping prepare the Thanksgiving dinner.

Summer glanced up form the gravy she was stirring on the stove. Seeing the expression on my face, she said cautiously, "Hello…"

"I'm pissed," I announced.

"Me too," Uncle Bill grumbled. 

"I hate that kid." I jerked a thumb towards the dining room where Sky was. 

"I hate this _bird_," he shot back. "I've already dropped it on the floor."

"Oh, you see, you didn't have to tell me that, I never would have found out," I told him. 

"Daddy's not much of a cook," Sheryl explained. 

He looked at the clock. "I can't remember what time I put this turkey in."

"I think it was like two or something," Summer said, just as some of the boiling gravy splattered. She squawked in pain, swearing, hopping around, and putting her wrist to her mouth. 

"Are you okay?" Uncle Bill asked, rushing over to the sink and turning on the tap. "Just run some cold water over it. Sheryl, will you go check on Sky?"

She pushed open the swinging door to the dining room and poked her head in. "Oh great, we've lost the boy!" she declared. 

"Crap," Uncle Bill said, and then the doorbell rang. He spun in a frantic circle. "Okay, Turkey--yes. Sweet potatoes--I think so. Cranberry sauce! I forgot cranberry sauce! Lyric, will you check the cupboards for a can of cranberry sauce or something resembling it?" He left the kitchen. 

"Summer, you're closer," I said. 

"I'm BLISTERING!" she shouted. 

"I HATE this stupid holiday!" I yelled back. 

"Suck it up, buttercup," Summer snapped. "We're having company tonight, so you will NOT act like this in front of them. Did you find the cranberry sauce yet?"

"Oh screw the damn berries!" I cried, unable to find anything. 

"You are such a miserable little brat, good God! What the hell is your problem?"

"Shut up and help me find cranberry sauce!"

"Bite me!"

"YOU!"

"_YOU!" _She whipped me in the butt with a dishtowel. I screamed and grabbed her wrist by the burn. She in return grabbed hold of a chunk of my hair. 

"And these are my--" Uncle Bill ushered a small, sad looking woman into the kitchen, followed by Gerry. 

__

"OW!" I howled, practically bent over backwards. "Let go!"

"_YOU_!" she hollered. 

"Girls!"

At the sound of Uncle Bill's sternly sharp voice, we let go of each other and stood up straight. He stared at us for a long moment, and continued with the introductions. "And these are my nieces, Lyric, and Summer. Girls, these are the Bertiers."

"Pleased to meet you," Summer and I said pleasantly in unison, and then glared at each other. 

"That was delicious, Coach," Gerry said, not quite able to finish his third serving. 

"Yes, really," Mrs. Bertier agreed. "Who knew a single man could cook so well? I don't suppose you'd share your recipe for the sweet potatoes?"

Sheryl piped up, "They're from a can."

"Oh. Well, how about the cranberry sauce?"

"Also from a can."

Uncle Bill gave his daughter an affectionate look. Then he turned to Gerry. "So, you ready to start training this winter, son?"

Gerry nodded, downing the last of his milk. "Definitely. Anytime."

Summer, who had gotten full long before everyone else, sat up with interest. "Training for what?"

"Shot put," he told her.

Sky had not uttered a word throughout the entire meal. He just sat next to me, poking at his food. One time, I bumped his arm when I reached for the milk, and he glared at me, but that was about the most human emotion had emitted all night. 

But he looked up at Gerry at that moment and asked, "You trying out for the Special Olympics?"

I wanted to slap him hard enough to knock his head off. 

Gerry just smirked self-consciously. "Yeah, actually."

Sky nodded. "Cool."

I wasn't sure if it was the low lighting playing tricks on my eyes, but I think Sky may have actually smiled at Gerry. 


	17. Basketball

"That was a foul!" Summer yelled. "Complete and utter!"

Sheryl smiled challengingly, dribbling the ball she'd just stolen from Summer. "You can't dribble. You would have lost it anyway."

"So ask me for it, don't push me!"

Somehow, Sheryl had talked Summer, Gerry and I into playing basketball. Luckily, it wasn't snowing at the moment and the driveway was freshly shoveled. Unluckily however, I had to be Summer's teammate. We were losing terribly. 

Sheryl effortlessly made a basket and Gerry clapped. "That's my girl, take it back to centre!"

I grabbed her around the waist and swung her in an arc. She squealed with laughter and dropped the ball. "Lyric!" she giggled as I took her to the ground, tickling her. 

"I would have to say that that was not sportsmanlike," Gerry chuckled. 

Summer pounced on the ball. 

Gerry hovered over her. "Are you going to get up? Or are you just going to remain on the cold frozen ground forever with a basketball under you?"

"It depends," she said. "Can you maybe back up a little?"

"No, sorry."

"Could you promise not to take it from me?"

"Uh…sure. I can do that."

"Thank you." She carefully rose to her feet and then hurled the ball to me. 

"Where the hell did you learn to throw?" I cried, running halfway down the driveway for the ball. 

"I didn't."

Sheryl was also racing for the ball. She took a running leap and landed on my back. 

"Sheryl!" I whined, staggering. "You're too heavy!"

She giggled. "I know. Gerry, go get the ball!"

We all looked up when we saw Sky walking towards us, his head down and his hands shoved in the pockets of his thin hoodie. He looked cold. 

"Hi?" Summer called.

"Hi." He shrugged. "Coach sent me out here."

"Summer, I kick you off my team!" I yelled. "Sky, you're with me!"

"Hey!" she cried, offended. 

"You should stick with cheerleading," I advised her. 

With Sky on my team, we started to catch up. Summer sat on the side throwing dead grass in the air like confetti, unenthusiastically muttering cheers. 

"Oh yeah," Sky said to me with a smirk that belonged to the brother I used to know. "Alan's coming over."

"What?" I cried, dropping the ball as I was about to take a shot at the basket. "When?"

"Thank you," he giggled, snatching up the ball. "I just didn't want you to take that shot because I don't have enough faith in you to believe you wouldn't miss."

"You jackass!" I yelled. "So he's not coming? I strongly loathe you, Sky!"

"Hey Alan," Gerry called. "You up for some basketball?"

I looked up and broke out into a grin, seeing Alan making his way up our driveway, his cheeks all rosy from the cold. "Alan!"

"Lyyyyyric," he squawked.

Sky elbowed, still smirking slightly. "I didn't think you'd mind if I called him."

I threw my arms around him before thinking. "Ohh, you're a good brother sometimes."

"That what YOU think. You're off my team." He shouted, "Hey, Bosley, you're with me!" He threw his hoodie to me with a wide, playful smile.

"Hahahahaha!" Summer cackled vengefully.

I sauntered off to sit next to her, but Gerry offered, "Lyric, you can take my place. I'm gonna sit off for awhile."

"Aww man!" Sheryl whined. 

"Nah, that's okay, Summer can play," I said. 

"Woohoo!" Summer yipped. 

"Aww MAN!" Sheryl whined louder. 

I watched them play for awhile, hugging my knees to my chest and feeling kinda content. Summer's obvious lack of skill for basketball didn't stop her from having fun. That's why I loved about her; no matter what she was doing, she found a way to make it the time of her life. Sheryl was like the obnoxious prodigal child. Her long blond curls bouncing on her back as she slipped past everyone to make an effortless lay up. 

There was something about Alan I could never begin to describe. He was lithely talented at almost any sport he played, but it was just the light in his eyes and the joy in his smile when he was just having fun that made me fall in love over and over again. I laughed as he held the ball above Sheryl's head teasingly. Then he laughed when Summer knocked it out of his hands to Sheryl.

But Sky just broke my heart in a way only a person you have loved all your life could. Sports were what he loved. He didn't join in on the laughing like the others, he just kicked their asses. The talent just burned out of him even when he was playing Make-It-Take-It in the driveway, and it just made me sad because he didn't care and he was destroying his body. The unconditional love I felt for him hit me hard then as I watched, and a terrible feeling of foreshadow fell over me that my days with Sky were numbered. I already missed him. 

"So, how long have you and Alan been going out?" Gerry asked, shaking me out of my thoughts. 

"Ahh, since September," I replied. "You seeing anyone?"

"Nope. I haven't had a girlfriend since last year." He shrugged. "We drifted too much. And I haven't been…you know, getting out much."

"Sorry," I said, for lack of something better to say. 

"It's okay." He wrapped his jacket around himself more tightly. "What's the deal with your brother?" he asked abruptly. 

I scoffed. 

"He's got track lines on his arms." Gerry looked at me. "He's got a problem, doesn't he?"

"Yep."

"That's a waste. He's got good form."

I grinned at him. "You checking out my brother's form?"

"Oh baby, yes Lyric, I can't keep my eyes off of him," he said with laughing sarcasm. "Maybe I'll try and help him out."

"With his form."

"No," he said impatiently. "It would be a waste to lose talent like that."

"And you're going to do what?"

Gerry stared straight ahead for a long moment before he glanced at me. "I'll get him to take a look at me."


	18. Under the Table

Gerry started coming around a lot more. I was sure there was a scheme brewing in his mind, and it turned out in the end that he did. He came over and watched hockey games with Uncle Bill, and eventually, Sky started joining them, even though he hated hockey. At first, he was just a shadow of a ghost in the TV room, watching from the doorway, or from the arm of the couch. But Uncle Bill and Gerry's enthusiasm for the game eventually got Sky to sit between them like an old friend, and he screamed at the TV and threw Cheezies at the screen right along with them. It was good for Sky. But when Gerry left, so would Sky and when he came home, he wasn't the brother that I loved.

But back to me. 

"I'm bored," Alan announced in my bathroom. 

We were in the bathroom because we weren't allowed to be in my bedroom. 

I crinkled my nose, leaning my weight into his legs as he sat on the counter. "Why don't you just go _home_ then?"

"Because you wouldn't be there and my old man _would _be," he replied, matter-of-fact. 

"Yaaay, you like me you really _like_ me!"

"Yes I do, but my pants are wet."

I tossed back my head and laughed. 

He waved his hands, as if a sudden idea came to his mind. "Cookies!"

"Yes, aren't cookies just lovely," I said agreeably. 

"We should go _find_ some." He leapt off the counter, toppling the toothbrush holder over in the process, and then dove for the door. 

"Okay, but I'm having cereal!" I called, running after him.

Since both Alan and I were chronic eaters, he knew his way around our kitchen and I knew my way around his. He produced a box of Oreo's from the pantry and then peered into the fridge. "Milk?" he asked me. 

"No thanks," I replied, getting out the Frosted Flakes and a bowl. 

"But you're having cereal?"

"I know," I giggled. "I had an incredibly piggish idea."

"I love it already."

I reached past him into the fridge and grabbed a tub of whipped cream. "Milk substitute!"

"SICK!" he cried, grinning maniacally. "Can I have some for my cookies?"

We had just settled down at the small breakfast table and were about to devour our unhealthy meal when we heard a voice say, "Hey, can I talk to you about something?"

"Yeah, sure, what about?"

"Sky."

"Oh…oookay. He's still in the next room, can we talk in private?"

"Uhh, yep, in the kitchen."

Hearing footsteps fall on the creaky floorboards in the hallway as they got closer to the kitchen, I shot a look at Alan. "Quick, under the table!"

"Ooh, what are we gonna do under _there_?" he asked, smiling deviously. 

"Spy." I grabbed my food. "And eat."

The long blue tablecloth prevented us from seeing what was going on, but it also prevented us from being seen. I recognized the voices to belong to Gerry and Summer. They were standing by the sink, or so I guessed, and their voices were hushed so I had to strain my ears to hear them. 

"My brother doesn't have an addictive personality, Gerry," Summer began quietly. "He hates everyone, so why are you all buddy-buddy with him?"

"I don't know, I just like him," Gerry replied nonchalantly. "He's a good kid underneath all the crap."

"I know he is. But why are you trying so hard?"

"You wanna hear the truth?"

"DundunDUN," Alan whispered trying to build the suspense. I elbowed him. He took an Oreo and scooped up some of my whipped cream covered Frosted Flakes. He nodded approvingly, then gestured for me to try it. 

"Okay, Summer. You and your sister are both nice girls. You're both well adjusted to what your mom did. That's why you're not doing what Sky does. He's depressed, he hates his mother but wishes she would just come home, and he figures maybe blow and whatever else he does will help him feel something else."

"And you know this how?" she demanded. 

Cookies, Frosted Flakes and whipped cream is a delicious combination.

"I got him to trust me," Gerry said simply. 

__

"How? You've only known him for two weeks! We've known him all his life and he just gives us the finger when we try to help!"

Gerry's voice turned dark. "Who wouldn't trust a guy in a wheelchair?"

Summer took her time replying, obviously taken aback by his comment, as I was. "So…what, you've been having little pow-wows with him?"

"We were watching a game together and he looked like he needed such a good ass-kicking that I kinda gave him hell," he laughed. "Told him he needed to get his act together before every opportunity ran out for him. Told him that if he kept burning out the way he was, he'd end up like me."

"Like you?"

"Useless."

"Don't say things like that," Summer snapped. "It's not true. Your life is gong to take you somewhere amazing."

"Amazing, huh?" he chuckled self deprecatingly.

"Yes. Because that's what happens for people like you, Gerry."

I slapped a hand over my face. I hated the mushy parts. 

"You're a surprising person, Summer," Gerry told her, not in a flirty way. "When I first saw you--"

"You thought I was an airhead?"

"I thought you were a typical cheerleader."

"Thaaaanks," she laughed. 

"Hey, I'm not even going to ask what _you_ were thinking when you saw _me_."

"That's not fair, Gerry," she said, quietly angry. 

"Neither is…anything." He sighed loudly. "Anyway, good news, your brother is accepting help. That's why I was lurking in the hallway when you came up to me."

"And why's that?"

"I was trying to find his room. Sky asked me to flush what I could find."

Summer squealed, and I was pretty sure that she hugged him, judging by his surprised, "Oof."

Lying under a breakfast table and getting fat wasn't the most typical situation to be in when you find out your brother wants to turn his life around. I just raised my eyebrows in shock, forgetting about the food. 

Then Alan wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to him, and I could feel his smile as he kissed the side of my head.


	19. Sky's Without

"Sky, you're gonna be late for school," I whispered, trying to make him get out of bed about a week later. 

"Jesus Christ, Lyric!" Sky yelled, and I flew back from him, narrowly avoiding his flailing arm as he flipped over in a tangle of sheets. He was sweating and he looked like he had a cold or something with his watery eyes and sniffly nose. 

"What?" I demanded. "What's wrong?"

"Why did you wake me up?" he shouted, sitting up in his bed, looking small. As he raked his damp hair off his forehead, I could see his thin hands shaking. 

"Because it's a Monday and usually one attends school on Mondays!"

"I'm not going," he growled. "Get the hell out of my room."

"What do you mean you're not going?" I shrilled. "Your marks are crap already! You can't afford to miss school!"

"What are you, my mother?" he cried, swinging his legs off the bed and shoving me towards the door. 

Sky had rapidly lost a lot of weight in this past week. He probably matched me pound for pound, if he wasn't already lighter than me. So it didn't take a lot of exertion to push him away from me. "Don't touch me, Sky," I snapped.

"Get out of my room then."

"Why are you acting like this if you're getting better?" I cried. 

"Are you _blind?"_ he shouted. "I am not getting better!"

I felt a hand close around my arm and gently lead me out of Sky's bedroom. I was on the verge of tears, so I swung into the new person's arms. 

"He's not going to school today, sweetie," Uncle Bill murmured. 

I could feel his hand cradling the back of my head as I tried not to let Sky bring me to tears. "Sorry," I whispered. 

"No, it's not your fault. He's been having a hard time sleeping lately," he told me, leading me away from Sky's room. "And he was up all night sick."

I nodded and scrubbed at my eyes. No tears. That was good. I picked up my backpack and told him, "Tell Summer I left, okay?"

I was in a bad mood all morning. I drifted through my classes, not caring about anything. Nina tried to get me to talk to her in math class, but she gave up, offended at my monosyllabic answers. Under any other conditions, I would feel bad for causing one of my best friends to feel insulted, but that day I really didn't care. 

The moment I caught a glimpse of Alan sitting at our usual table, the only thing I could think of was that I needed to get to him. Pushing through the slow moving crowd, I panicked, thinking _am I gonna break am I gonna break down_ until I finally made it to the table.

"Hey Lyric, wanna see my bruise?" he asked, but stopped short when he saw my face. "Lyric…"

I sank down on the bench next to him and he brought his arms around me. "I'm never going to get my brother back, Alan."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, his hands rubbing my arms reassuringly. "Did he relapse or something?"

"I don't know, he was just so…it's like he's _gone_…"

"Jeez, Lyric." Alan tightened his grip around me. "He's going through withdrawal. He's _trying_. But this is gonna be really hard for him."

"Is he always going to be this way?" I whispered. "It's like, he was the biggest ass-bastard when he was _on_ something, but now that he's _not, _he's still an ass-bastard. Did we lose him?"

"I don't know what will happen with Sky. But he's always going to love you, Lyric."

Before I went up to bed, I was rummaging the fridge for leftovers from supper, of which Sky had decided to forgo that night.

Hearing someone come into the kitchen, I jumped and cried, "I'm not eating all this food! It's for--the mice!"

Sky raised an eyebrow at me, walking over to the medicine cabinet. 

"Are you hungry?" I asked cautiously. "You didn't eat supper."

"No, I'm just getting some aspirin. Stomach cramps."  
I winced. "Um, don't kill me, okay?"

"No promises."

"Well. You're not supposed to take aspirin," I muttered.

He paused, looking at the bottle of painkillers in his hand. Shaking his head, he set it back in the cabinet, all the fight leaving him. 

"Um, but…Summer has Midol, if you want…"

"What's Midol?"

"It's for PMS."

He looked at me in disbelief. "Good God, Lyric."

"_You're_ the one who said you had _cramps!"_

"Not _those_ kind of cramps!"

"I was just trying to be of some assistance," I grumbled.

"I know, kiddo." He gave me a haunted smile. "But I don't need your assistance, okay? Don't get involved in my mess."

"I'm your sister. It's my job to stick my nose in places it doesn't belong."

"And you do it well. Go to bed." He gestured towards my plate of leftover stir-fry. "You're going to get fat."


	20. Dear Diary

Foodless, I trudged up the stairs to my room, braiding my hair as I went. 

"Summer, read me a bedtime story," I yawned sleepily, entering my room to discover it was empty. I knew Summer was up here, so I figured she must be in the bathroom. I quickly dressed into my nightshirt, hoping she wouldn't walk in on me changing.

Walking over to my bed, about to flop down and get some sleep, I noticed a book lying open on her bed. Since I was curious by nature, I of course picked it up and began reading. 

Summer's loopy handwriting scrawled across the pages and I slowly realized that this was her diary. 

The loyal thing to have done was to put it down and pretend I'd never seen it. 

But remember, I was curious by nature. So I read it. 

__

December 10th/02

I don't know what I'm going to do about him. The first time I laid eyes on him, I was like, holy crap! I pick you! But he just thinks of me as some gum-snapping little girl. 

Last night I cried thinking about him. I can't really describe the kind of affect he was over me, and I can't even begin to try explaining him in general. He's amazing. And I'm just a trophy. Everyone knows it. Guys like him would never go for a girl like me. 

That's why I cried. I'm not used to not having the guy I want. And I know I can't have him. I haven't even asked him out or let him know how I feel about him because I know what his reaction would be.

Anyway, I'm just kinda sad tonight. 

Sky's having a bad day. Hopefully this withdrawal stage goes fast because I hate seeing him this miserable. I think he really upset Lyric because she's in a 'piss off, I hate the world' mood today. I don't think she understands what's happening to him. 

Everything's turning out bad. I'm lonely and I'm crying and there's no one here to help me stop being lonely or make me stop crying. 

Lyric should be coming up to bed soon so I'm gonna go wash my face so she doesn't know I've been crying. 

And that's where her writing stopped. 

"Aww," I murmured out loud. 

"DROP the book!" Summer ordered, appearing in the doorway. 

I squealed, dropped the diary, and dove to the ground. "Don't kill me!"

She jumped on me. "How much did you read?" she yelled. 

"I can't read! I'm illiterate! Me, s-t-o-o-p-i-d!"

"I am going to kill you so much," she growled. 

Suddenly I sat up, startling her. I threw my arms around her and cried, "I love you!"

"What?" she demanded.

"I don't want you to be lonely! And I don't want you have to cry all alone!"

"I cannot believe you read my diary."

"I cannot believe you left your diary open on your bed in the room you share with me, but that's besides the point." I released her from the hug. "I'm sorry for reading. Actually, I'm not, but that's the appropriate thing to say."

Summer rolled her eyes and stood up, drawing back her covers. "Goodnight, Lyric."

"Are you okay?" I asked, climbing into my own bed.

"Yes. But I'm not talking about this anymore. I'm turning off the lights."

"Will you plug the monkey in?"

"No, I will not plug the monkey in, I had a scary dream about the monkey last night." She reached out and turned off the lamp on her bedside table. "Goodnight."

The room bathed in darkness, I squeezed my eyes shut and reminded myself that Summer was like six feet away and that the man-eating lumberjack under my bed could not get me. But she was mad at me and therefore might let the lumberjack eat me…

"Summer?"

She made a low guttural noise to show she was awake.

"Who is he?"

"Who's _who_?" she muttered.

"The guy you were writing about," I said impatiently, and then scoffed, "Who's _who_. Jeez."

"It's none of your business," she said. 

I grinned to myself in the dark. "Well, if you won't tell me who he is, I'll have to talk about my personal problems. You see, I've been wondering if I should let Alan make a woman out of me--"

"Okay! Okay! Shut up!" she cried, and I giggled. "And don't you _dare_, Lyric, you're too little and innocent."

"You're avoiding the question."

She sighed loudly and dramatically. "You can't tell anyone, okay?"

"Cross my heart and hope you die."

Laughing, she threw a teddy bear at me. "You're a dork."

"Yep."

"It's Gerry."

I screamed. 

"Lyric!" she hissed. 

I flew out of my bed and landed on her. "That is PERFECT! Oh my goodness! Holy crap! I'm going to be an aunt! Can I be your maid of honour?"

"Not if you let Alan deflower you," she giggled. "Then you can be my hussy of honour." 

"I was kidding about that!" I snickered evilly. "Or _was_ I…Mwahahahahaha."

"Anyway, Gerry's way too good for me, Lyric," she sighed. "He's all like, All American good guy…and then there's me."

"You're my favourite sister!"

"I am your only sister."

"You'd still be my favourite. I mean, like, if we got another sister somehow, which I don't see how that would actually happen considering we don't have _parents_, but anyway, yeah, you'd still be my favourite." I became confused. "What was I talking about before? Oh yeah, Gerry! Aww, that's just so sweet! I like both of you! If I were to pick anyone for you, I'd pick him! Well actually I would pick Shawn Cassidy, but that's just because he's hot and I would try and steal him from you, but he's probably not available so I pick Gerry!"

"Me too," she laughed. "You're awfully weird, Lyric."

"You two will be holding hands and smiling lovingly at each other in no time!" 

"Dear Lord, you will _not_ meddle!" she snapped, afraid of me. 

"Meddle I WILL! Just leave it to me and Alan!"

"Alan?"

"Yeah, he's my sidekick."

"Oh God."

"Goodnight! I'm going to go dream up a plan now!"

"Get out of my bed to do that, please," she said, not waiting for me to obey as she shoved me to the floor. 

"Ow, you stupid goose," I grumbled, scrambling back into my own bed where it was safe. "Just for that, I'm going to find a way of embarrassing you in the process."

"You would have done that anyway."

"Yes, that's true."


	21. Popcorn Inhalation

"Guess what," Summer said, holding the door open for me as we left the school the next day at 3:30.

"You're running for congress."

"No. I'm stupid."

"That would have been my next guess."

"I failed my Chemistry test, but I don't suppose I would get any sympathy from you."

"That's right."

"I don't care. I'm venting to you anyway. You see, it was totally unfair, it was a pop quiz--"

"Great!" I said in a rush, holding up a hand to shut her up. "I'll be back!" Running across the parking lot, I threw myself in front of Alan's car door before he could stick his key in to unlock it. "Hi!"

Alan grinned curiously, crossing his arms over his chest. "Can I do something for you, Lyric?"

"Yes," I replied, business-like. "Would you like to go to a movie tonight?"

"On a Tuesday?"

"Mmhmm!" I said cheerfully. 

"Are you plotting something?"

I pretended to be offended at his suspicion. "Of course not. Invite Gerry."

Bursting out into laughter, Alan placed his hands on my shoulders. "Explain please."

"Okay. You know Summer?"

"Yes, I know Summer."

"Well, she's got a huge crush on Gerry."

Another burst of laughter from Alan. 

I gave him an amused look and continued, "She doesn't think she's good enough for him, but I think he'd like her if he gave her a chance. So I'm thinking that if you invite him, he'll come, and then it'll be you and me paired off and so then they'd be all 'hmm are we on a date?' and hark! Wedding bells."

"You're quite the character, Lyric."

"Okay."

"I'll call him after school," he promised. 

"Thanks! I love you!"

"You love your sister too," he laughed. 

"Don't spread that around." I grinned and ran back to Summer. 

"I refuse to go to the Godfather," Summer said indignantly. She was not all that pleased that I had dragged her along on my apparent movie date with Alan. 

I knew Alan was fighting down a Godfather impression. 

"How about something else really violent?" I asked gamely, closing my eyes as a passing car's headlights blinded me. The town's only theatre wasn't crowded because it was Tuesday night, so we could afford to hang around for awhile and not worry about ticket lineups. 

"I don't like violent movies," Summer said. "You know that, Lyric."

"So are we going to decide on an actual movie son?" Alan asked. 

"No, this arguing is much more fun," I said. 

"Hey guys," a voice said from behind us. "What are you doing here, Summer?"

I watched with great pleasure as all the blood rushed to her face when she laid eyes on Gerry wheeling towards us. "Hi--I didn't know you were coming tonight, Gerry."

"Surprise." He grinned. "Sorry I'm late. I had to stop and yell at some jerk that parked in a wheelchair space. Did you decide on a movie?"

"No we haven't decided," I told him. "Summer's difficult."

He smiled. "We'd better hurry before the back seats are taken. Going down the stairs is a little tricky."

"Poseidon Adventure it is!" Alan exclaimed. 

"Who said Poseidon Adventure?" I asked. 

"I did."

Halfway into the movie, which was about a bunch of people trying to survive in a sinking cruise ship, Summer leaned over to whisper in my ear, "Maybe I could just kill myself."  
"Shh, movie speaking," I said distractedly. 

"Do you think I would just wedge my head in my bucket of popcorn and suffocate?"

"Probably not."

"Lyric," she whined. 

"WHAT!" I snapped. 

"I need to talk to you," she hissed. 

"Noooo," I howled. 

She grabbed my head and we navigated around Gerry, making our way out into the lobby. 

"What?" I cried. "What is soooo important?"

"I made a fool of myself!"

"You usually do! Congratulations!" I spun around to go back to the movie, but she grabbed my arm. 

"It was all dark and romantic atmospherey and he leaned in to say something to me and I could feel his breath on my neck and I INHALED A PIECE OF POPCORN and I was like HKKKTHGHAGH!"

"Hahahahaha," I giggled sympathetically. 

"He's going to associate the thought of me with mucous forever!"

"What did he lean in to say?" I asked, delighted with the fact that my calm, perfect older sister was losing it over a guy. 

"He asked if I he could have some of my popcorn."

Laughing, I dragged her back to the theatre. "Just sit and look pretty, Summer."

We settled back in our seats. I got comfy and then looked over at Alan, who was definitely deeply engrossed in the movie. "Anything interesting happen?"

"The old lady drowned."

"What?" I cried.

"Yeah. It was sad."

"Suddenly, I loathe my sister."

"Oh, and Gerry asked me if Summer had a boyfriend."

I squeaked. "Really?"

"Yes. Now shh. Movie's speaking."

I turned to Summer, patting her arm excitedly. "Summersummersummersummer!"

She gave me an annoyed look. "Let me guess. We need to cut back on your sugar intake."

"You do and you DIE. I need sugar to live. Gerry asked Alan if you have a boyfriend," I whispered. 

"Get outta dodge!"

"That's a weird saying. Can't say I care for it."

"What did Alan say?" she demanded. 

I turned back to Alan. "What did you say?"

"What did I say?" he repeated, confused. "Nothing. I'm watching a movie. I try not to talk during movies. You should try."

"No, to Gerry about Summer having a boyfriend. What did you say?"

"Oh. I said no."

I turned back to Summer again. "He said no."

She cackled. "Pitter patter goes my heart."

"I should hope so."

"This is a great night," she giggled. 

"It'll get even better if you like, act like all your clothes are bothering you and you just cannot for the life of you stand to wear them anymore and then Gerry would be all--"

"Lyric."

"Yes?"

"Thank you for your help. Now it's time for you to shut up."

"I can arrange that."

"Good."

I turned my attention back to the movie, although I was now somewhat confused about what was happening. 

Alan pressed his forehead against the side of my head and whispered, "Are you ready to watch the movie?"

Smiling I turned my head so that I could kiss him. "Yep. But I'm afraid that I'm confused."  
"They're all gonna drown like flies in a toilet."

Giggling, I laid my head down on his shoulder as he put his arm around me. Every once in a awhile, I would glance over at Summer and Gerry, and every time they were whispering something to each other, occasionally laughing quietly. 

"Gah! They're _flirting_!"

"We're good matchmakers," Alan told me.

"Hehehehe, quite the dynamic duo, aren't we?" I laughed. 

"Okay, but I get to be Batman."


	22. But Why

Alan and I decided that we didn't want to go home right after the movie, so Gerry offered to take Summer home. Summer decided that that was a very good idea.

We drove around for awhile, belting out whatever songs we could think of because his radio was no longer in working condition. But that soon got boring, so we wound up at a restaurant, drinking milkshakes and sharing a plate of nachos. 

I giggled, taking a sip from my vanilla shake and smiling up at Alan endearingly. "Thank you for buying me food, Alan."

He smiled back. 

"What are you thinking about?" I asked. 

He leaned back against his seat. "Um…"

I picked up a nacho, watching as the melted cheese stretched and snapped. "We have ways of making you talk," I said. 

"I was just thinking…" Alan grinned and shrugged. "I was just thinking about how I don't want this to ever end."

"What? These nachos? Dig in, buddy, they're a dying breed."

"No, I meant what I have with you."

I peered up at him, inquisitive and kinda touched. "Are you being sappy and romantic?"

"I think so."

"Go on."

He smiled down at the table, a little bashfully. That was an incredibly cute sight to see, and it made me feel all in love and happy and whatnot. "I'm sorry that someone had to die in order for you to come here, but I can't believe I spent eighteen years without knowing you. I'll never know anyone like you, and I'm glad, because you're here, and you're mine, and uh, thanks."

"Goodness, you're like…the best," I laughed, amazed that those words had just come out of his mouth, and they had been directed at me. "And you just decided all that right now?"

"I've always felt it. But I thought it when I was watching you blow bubbles into your milkshake."

I cackled. "Wow, I should be unladylike more often!"

"Anyway. I love you."

I grinned, closing my hands around his across the table. "I love you back."

"Thank God!" an out of breath Petey cried, running up to our table. "We've been looking for you for like an hour, Lyric."

"Missed me, didn't ya?" I teased, nudging him. "Do you want to sit down? We're willing to spare some nachos."

"Lyric."

The easy going, take-it-as-it-comes light was missing from Petey's eyes as he scratched his head uncomfortably. 

A wave of nausea took me under. I looked up at him with expectance, needing some kind of reassuring explanation. 

"Sky…" he faltered, not making eye contact.

"What about Sky?" I demanded. "What happened to him?"

"He's in the hospital."

"Why?" I cried. "What _happened_ to him? Dammit, Petey--"

Alan stood up, and pulled me to my feet. "Come on, Lyric, I'll drive you to the hospital."

"But _why_?" I whimpered, holding on tightly to Alan's hand, glad that he was holding mine back just as tight. 

Petey followed behind us, his hand on my shoulder consolingly. "I think he was just lonely."


	23. Waiting Room

The overheard lights glared. It smelled sterile and fearful. Stretchers and wheelchairs and outdated magazines were littered about randomly. 

This was the Alexandria Emergency Room. And I was there because my older brother took it upon himself to decide that life sucked.

Glancing around, fazed, I tried to make sense of it all. Alan whispered something gently to me, and ushered me to the waiting room, where I saw Summer, Gerry, Uncle Bill, Sheryl and Coach Boone sitting together and not talking. Uncle Bill looked up and got to his feet, jogging over to me and sweeping me up into a bear hug. 

He felt like a father. 

I burst into tears. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Alan walk over to sit down with the others, followed by Ronnie and Petey. I buried my face into the lapel of my uncle's jacket. "He's okay, isn't he?"

"I don't know, kiddo," he muttered.

"Why?" I asked. "Why did he do it? What the hell is his problem?"

"He just got too sad, Lyric," he said quietly. "This withdrawal he's going through--he probably just thought that that was what he'd be feeling from now on. He probably figured he couldn't win either way--when he was high or when he was coming down."

"But _he's_ the one that hates Mom for killing herself!" I cried. "He friggen _hates_ her! Why would he want to be like her? Where the _hell_ does he get off being so selfish?"

"Okay, okay, just come sit down." Uncle Bill held me by the hand and walked me across the waiting room. Growing up, I had never had a father to hold my hand crossing the street, walking through a park…I had never had a father. 

I had gained a father. And I was losing my brother. Just like I had found the boy that meant the world to me, and lost my mother. This just wasn't fair; why couldn't anything just come without strings? Why couldn't God just let me be happy?

I sank in to the seat next to Alan. 

Here _I _was thinking about God not letting me be happy, when my brother had just attempted suicide.

"_God…_" I leaned forward, covering my face. 

Alan rubbed my back, not saying anything. I said a silent prayer of thanks for letting him be there for me. 

I turned my head to where Summer and Gerry were. A sad smile crossed my face like an eclipse when I saw that Gerry was holding her hand in both of his. 

"Hey," I said quietly. They both looked at me. "How's your date?"

A tender, raw, broken look fell over Summer. She shook her head, and tears spilled down her cheeks silently. I nodded, understandingly, and she gratefully looked away. 

Alan handed me a Highlights magazine. He smirked gently. He whispered, "I love you."

I looked at him, my eyes filling up with tears again. I tried to say it back, but couldn't. But he seemed to understand as he brought his arms around me, letting me lean into him so that I could cry. 

A tall, white-haired doctor entered the waiting room. 

All nine of us looked up. 

Uncle Bill rose to his feet dutifully. 

I imagined the worst. 

Sky killed himself. That's all I could think of, was that Sky had killed himself. The image of him lying in his room, alone, completely alone, just wishing he would hurry up and die. 

The doctor put his hand reassuringly on my uncle's arm. Uncle Bill nodded several times, and I tried to read their facial expressions and body language, but I couldn't. 

I just wanted to know. 

But in my heart, I felt I already did know. My childhood accomplice, the one that had helped me sneak cookies when Mom wasn't looking, the one who bandaged my skinned knee after he had pushed me down…He was dead. He had killed himself. He was gone. 

The room became very still. I felt like I was going to throw up. 

The doctor smiled gently, patted Uncle Bill on the shoulder and then went back down the hallway he had just come down.

Was there going to be another funeral? 

My uncle stood for a long moment with his back to us. Finally, he turned around, moving slowly. He knew the question we were all dying to ask, but he couldn't seem to find the words as he let his arms drop at his sides, shrugging weakly. He smiled. But it was sad. 

****

[Author's Note: Mwahahahaha and that's where I'm leaving you!!! I'm leaving for two weeks to stay with my sister, so you're just going to have to wait to find out how Sky is :)]


	24. Goodbye?

One time, probably about two years earlier when I was a freshman, I had a huge crush on this sophomore named Derek Martin, but he didn't know I existed. I spent hours just pining over him, imagining myself as Mrs. Lyric Martin and other retarded crap girls with crushes do. 

Then, out of the blue, he asked me to go to a movie with him. My friends were amazed, but not as amazed as Summer was, who had been his lab partner in Chemistry. She claimed he always flirted with her. But I was overjoyed. The only person who didn't seem to care was Sky. 

Friday after school, date night, Sky made me a banana split. Of course, I was like "Sweet deal, what the hell?" I gratefully devoured it as he sat beside me, watching silently. 

"What?" I had demanded suspiciously. 

"I'm going to tell you something, and no matter what, you are not allowed to cause me bodily harm in any way, all right?"

"No."

"Derek asked you out so he could get into Summer's good books," he told me, and I remember the forlorn look of remorse in his eyes. "He's in my gym class. He was bragging about it in the locker room."

I stared at him incredulously. "I can't believe you, Sky."

"It's the truth! I'm sorry, but it's true!"

I dropped my spoon into my dish, the melting ice cream splattering my blouse as well as the oak tabletop. "Can't you just let me be someone besides Mom's _other_ daughter; Summer's tagalong; your kid sister? Why are you telling me all this?"

The remorse had been replaced by frustration. "Because you're my kid sister, Lyric."

It turned out that he wasn't lying. 

I took his word for it and cancelled the date, and I'm glad I did. We stayed home that night and played Monopoly with Mom. 

Sky could be abrasive and insensitive sometimes, but he was my big brother, and he'd always looked out for me. He'd eve chewed Alan out when we first started dating. And where had I been when he needed someone? I had been at the movies with my boyfriend, his twin sister, and his best friend. It hadn't even crossed my mind to invite him. 

Had I crossed his mind when he was wondering if he could kill himself? Even if I had…it hadn't been enough. 

But I needed him. I needed him. He couldn't be dead. I still need my brother and I wasn't ready for him to be gone. 

Was he or wasn't he?

Goodbye? Or thank God you're alive?

"He's stable," my uncle told us quietly. 

I smiled, sobbing, as I looked over to Summer, who was just shaking her head in mute shock. 

"When can we see him?" Sheryl asked, tears glistening like diamonds in sapphires. It was the first time I had seen such an occurrence. 

"Anytime," he replied. "But he's still unconscious."

With his head turned into the pillow like a little boy taking a nap, Sky looked peaceful for the first time in months. His wrists were bandaged and he was hooked up to an IV, but he looked the same…only, not quite. The fearful angry hatred towards everything had vanished. Had he managed to kill that part of himself?


	25. waking up

I fell asleep in the chair beside Sky's bed, and when I woke up, everyone but Uncle Bill and I had left. I didn't know what time it was, but I could tell it was late. The only light in the room was the glowing shadows from the nurse's station across the hall. Sleepiness disoriented me for a moment, but then I looked at Sky, still unmoving and unconscious, and remembered slowly with both relief and grief. Sky was okay. But he didn't want to be. 

I stretched tiredly. "What time is it?"

Uncle Bill took his eyes away from Sky with a start. "Lyric," he breathed. "I wasn't expecting you to wake up for awhile. You really conked out." When he was answered by my silent smile, he strained to see the hands on his watch in the minimal light. "It's a little past two."

"You've been awake this entire time?"

He nodded, looking back at Sky. "He kind of murmured, but so far he hasn't…He's not waking up."

"He will," I said. I studied his sleeping face. His long black eyelashes softly fluttered with dreams and a lock of his slightly curly dark hair rested on his forehead. "And when he does wake up, he'll hate the world even more."

Uncle Bill stared at me. 

I shrugged. "He wanted to die. I'm assuming it was you that found him, and he's going to resent you for not letting him die. I mean, I am so grateful to you for saving him, but it's how Sky will think."

"Lyric, I didn't find Sky. He found me."

Blinking, I blurted, "Huh?"

"He was bleeding and he wasn't making much sense, although he did say something about how he cut himself because you told him he couldn't take painkillers. But he made his way into my office out back to tell me he was sorry." He shook his head, an honest insistence in his eyes. "He tried to back out. He didn't want to go through with it at the end. He saved himself."

I suddenly remembered Sky putting back the bottle of aspirin after I'd told him he wasn't supposed to take painkillers. So I _had_ crossed his mind when he tried to kill himself…thank God. 

I wondered what had made him change his mind. I would never ask; I would never know, but I would always thank God for putting that thought in his head at the last second. 

A few moments passed by. Finally, I looked up at Uncle Bill, worry creasing his forehead and fatherly affection in his blue eyes as he watched Sky sleep. I smiled. "Thank you."

He looked at me in confusion. "For what?"

Gesturing inadequately , I said simply, "This life."

He kind of squinted at me, leaning forward in his chair as if to hear better. 

I decided to elaborate. "I really don't know what all happened between you and Mom, but I know you never stopped loving her because you took us in and you are your father, you know? You could have left us to get shipped off to different foster homes, but you didn't. The life you've given us here…Um, well, I'm happy for the first time in forever. And you're the reason Sky is still here. So, um, hmm…that's what I meant when I said thank you for this life."

Uncle Bill smiled from across Sky's bed and I think I saw tears. "I'm doing my best for you kids. It's the least you deserve after everything that's happened to you."

"Yeah, sorry for all this crap we're putting you through. We're dysfunctional, you see."

Laughing, he shrugged. "The best of us are."

Changing the subject, I asked, "When did everyone leave?"

"The boys went home around midnight, along with Herman. Summer said she would get Sheryl settled into bed, and Gerry offered to take them home so I wouldn't have to drive them."

"So. You're letting Summer and Gerry be alone together in an empty house? When she's _vulnerable _and _needy?_ And he's a _boy?"_

"Um. Yes. Whoops."

Just as I began to feel sad that Alan had left without saying goodbye to me, I realized that his jacket was covering me like a blanket.

Uncle Bill noticed me looking oddly at the jacket and explained, "That Alan…He sure thinks the world of you. He's a good kid." He nodded towards the door. "He'd invading the vending machines."

My mouth gaped. "He's still here?"

"I talked to his father. Mr. Bosley's fine with it. Told you he thinks the world of you."

On cue, Alan entered the room, his arms filled with bags of food. He grinned up seeing me awake. "Morning."

I smiled back. "Hungry?"

Sheepishly looking down at all the food, he said, "I panicked."

"Yes you did."

Dumping candy bars and an assorted variety of chips onto a chair, he asked, "What'll you have?"

The weight of the entire night had not been completely lifted. Sky was lying in a hospital bed, his wrists slit. Therefore I still felt like yakking. I ran my hand through my hair, tousling it slightly because I didn't want Alan seeing me with bedhead…or chair-head, whatever. "I'm not really hungry, Alan. Thank you though."

His eyebrows shot up. "You're refusing food?"

"Look, I'm not a garbage disposal tonight, okay? I gave him an impatient look, all the while feeling bad.

"Coach, you mind if I take Lyric for a walk?"

My eyes flew to Sky. "But I don't--what if he--"

"Lyric, it would be nice for you to get out and stretch," Uncle Bill said. "And to talk."

I looked at Alan's outstretched hand. He wanted me to go with him. He wouldn't leave me; he was reaching for me, wasn't he?

Moving my legs out from underneath me, I took his hand, holding it tightly. I smiled at Uncle Bill, and then stepped into the mostly empty hallway that was lit by fluorescent lights. It smelled like someone's last days.

****

AN: I'm back, by the way :) There's one chapter to go before this is done, but I don't have time to type it out right now, sorry!


	26. the end

Alan led me outside onto the hospital roof. A Chinook wind blew past, lifting my hair in the warm-winter breeze. 

"What are we doing up here?" I asked, looking around at the city lights and the icing of snow on the roof's edge. 

He pulled me into an almost too-tight embrace, one hand on the back of my neck, the other pressed between my shoulder blades, with his cheek against mine. 

The touch, so reassuring and comforting, made that night's events so much more true, and it sent me into a flurry of tears.

"Please be okay," he whispered. 

"I almost lost him," I said in a wavering voice caught on tears. "I don't know what I would have done, I was so scared--"

"But he's okay, and he'll be okay from now on. I know how awful tonight was, but it's already tomorrow. It's over."

"I miss my mom," I murmured. 

"I know you do. You have all along."

"I can't keep losing the people I love, Alan, I'm scared to be alone."

"You're not _going_ to be."

Crying hard, I pleaded, "Don't leave!"

Alan's fingers surfed through my hair. He looked me in the eye. "I wasn't planning on it. The only way I'd ever leave is if you asked me to." He smiled. "But maybe we should go in. It's cold."

"I just…I just want to sit for awhile," I said quietly, sinking to the cold cement and leaning back against the brick ledge. "But you can go inside if you want."

"Are you asking me to leave?" he asked, grinning.

I looked up at him, probably looking like a depressed, allergy-prone rabbit with my water eyes and pink nose. I smiled, sniffling. "Nope."

He settled down beside me, pulling his long legs to his chest. "Then I'll stay. Hey, have you heard of that new kid show? Sesame Street?"

"Uh, heard of it, yes, but I haven't seen it."

"It's incredibly frightening. I mean, they've got this green hobo monster living in a trash can and an eleven foot tall bird," he said in disgust. "How can that not give children nightmares?"

I grinned. "Has the hobo monster been giving you nightmares, Alan?"

"I refuse to answer that," he replied cheerfully. 

I laughed, done with crying. 

Everything spinning in my mind began to slow down, calmed by the amount of love I felt for and from Alan. A light December breeze touched us but I barely felt it. He smiled softly and tousled my hair. 

Tonight was over because it was tomorrow. Alan had told me once that if it wasn't okay, then it wasn't the end. But he promised that everything was going to be okay now, and I believed him, so…the end. 


End file.
